The Gilded Lily
by Mandy2
Summary: Lily, a high society girl, gave only a rare glimpse of truth to her hoards of admirers and friends, until James returned. She's nearly sold by her stepmother and falls hard for James, denying it to everyone, including the easiest deceived, James. COMPLETE
1. Perfect

The Gilded Lily

The Gilded Lily

DISCLAIMER: This idea is based upon a book, called the Gilded Lily. I will not complete it, as a reassurance not to commit plagiarism. I hope not to make this too clichéd, but if I do, I apologize ahead of time. This hopefully will be much different from my usual L/J fics.

Lily held her head high as she walked through the crowd heading toward the Gryffindor Common Room. Her entourage was boring her as usual. Her protégée, a third year that must have been at least two years younger than her, followed her example. Among the large group trailing Lily Evans, Jackie Kensington was the only girl. From the lowly second year Jonathan Potter to the Head Boy Rafael Hernandez, there was quite a diversity in the group that followed her.

The stranger was dark. He stood next to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the only two of Lily's male friends that had not a single interest in her. They were waiting for somebody at the portrait hole. Lily was instantly studying the stranger. His hair was dark, his eyes filled with hidden pain and disdain, and he looked up to see Lily Evans looking him up and down. As her entourage disbanded, many weren't Gryffindors, her beauty became more and more apparent. He was a Gryffindor, she could tell by the way he held himself and the way he cocked one eyebrow up at her, nodding in her direction to find out who she was. He bent his head to whisper a comment to Sirius. His clothes were sleek and dark, just like his messy hair. It added to the mysterious charm.

Remus flashed her his mischief grin, which sent both chills and thrills through Lily. They had dated once, as a joke in first year. After fifteen minutes they announced to the Common Room that they were bored and broke up. Lily remembered the deep laugh of her idol, Molly Jackson, a fifth year. All that remained of the entourage (as the fellow Gryffindors had already filed into the portrait hole) was Jackie Kensington, who was eyeing her mentor with great interest; and Jonathan Potter, who knew who the stranger was.

"See this," Lily whispered to Jackie, "This is the perfect time for you to learn how a lady acts. You see that I do not approach the strange gentleman, but I wait for my friends to introduce me." Lily instructed. Sirius must have caught her drift, because he stepped forward from the place he was leaning. Lily straightened and Jackie stifled a giggle.

"Madame Evans, hope you have had a wonderful day." He said as she offered her hand. He took the small hand in both of his large ones, then kissed the top of it.

"Am I being pursued by the very gentleman who said that I was as interesting as Sir Snape discussing which grease he uses on special occasions?" Lily asked teasingly and flirtatiously, hoping that Jackie was taking notes.

"Alas, not today. I have to introduce you to someone. In a way, you know him. Because of sudden, er, deaths in his family, he has been away from Hogwarts for two years, completing his lessons at his estate. Ms. Evans, may I introduce you to James Potter?"

Lily smiled coyly. Another one for her list. Another for her entourage. Not the private one, consisting simply of Jonathan (he was useful for simply fetching things), Jackie, Remus, Sirius and possibly Peter, if Jonathan was in classes. That was the entourage she held for pleasure of company, not simply pleasure. This Potter would be useful for the upcoming Harvest Festival in Hogsmeade. She had yet to find an escort and a fresh one would be better than perhaps, oh, William Davies.

"Lady Lillian, I presume? The fantastic Lily that Sirius and Remus cannot stop chattering away about ever since my arrival? The very Lily that covers for Sirius's potion explosions? The very Lily that has simply replaced me?" James asked as he walked closer. He winked at Jonathan, who was in awe of his cousin. He took her hand as Sirius had. Less pleasure flowed through her as he kissed her hand. She sensed trouble, but today she had a wild streak. When he offered his arm, she accepted with an even wider smile. She was the Hogwarts queen, and it was certainly nice to have something fresh to cling to. Sirius and Remus tooted their imaginary bugles, as if announcing that the royal couple was coming through. Jonathan said the password and swept an imaginary red carpet out for them, and Jackie slowly brushed aside.

"May I proudly introduce the King of Hogwarts, Crown Prince of Gryffindor, President of the Marauders, Prime Minister of Womanizing, and all-around good guy, James Orion Potter!!! And his lovely escort, Queen of Hogwarts, Crown Princess of Gryffindor, Owner of the Stage, Sparkle of the Kingdom, the Most Elegant, Charming, Intelligent Female on the premises, Miss Lillian Isabelle Evans!!!" Sirius boomed to the Common Room. Many hadn't heard from or seen James in the two years he had been gone, and only third years and up could even scarcely remember him. But he seemed noble, dark, and if Lily Evans could take his arm, he was surely admirable. 

Lily Evans was an heiress. A Muggle heiress she may have been, but nonetheless an heiress. She had an intense beauty, of course, and though quiet, was friendly and intelligent. Quiet wasn't quite the word, she wasn't quiet. She was more, how do you put it, reserved. If everyone at Hogwarts were royal, Lily was a lower princess who kept a low profile, and Jackie would be the lowly baroness assigned to stay by her side.

Lily had her rules, of course. As for dating, she wouldn't date a gentleman more than a year younger than she, and if they were too old to attend Hogwarts, they were simply too old. She had a grand scarlet velvet armchair with golden accents reserved for her facing one of the many floor-to-ceiling windows, and one side of the chair faced outwards toward the wall with the portrait hole. The ottoman was in a coordinating style, and that was reserved for Jackie. The most that could be said to her while she was sitting there was a greeting or salutation of some kind. 

Lily had already changed from her usual uniform, and from the after-school outfit that kept her warm during the cool weather. She had unpinned her hair from its normal complicated up-do, and left her curls loose, which was a rare sight. This Friday night, she selected a long-sleeved, white, button-up silk pajama shirt, and long, matching silk pants. Both were trimmed in a solid bolt of silk in a shiny sort of pale silvery gray. She had her bare feet and lower legs tucked beneath her as she read her book, and eventually even Jackie left her side as the lower grades went up to bed. The seventh years had a test early in the morning, and the sixth years were tired of lingering. Most of the fifth year girls had gone up to bed, until all that remained in the room was Sirius and Remus playing a game of chess, James watching, Peter struggling alone with his Herbology homework, and Lily just twenty feet away from them in her usual chair, reading her book. She had turned her chair to face their game, perchance her book got boring.

James sat with his legs wide apart, his elbows resting on his thighs, his chin resting on the palms of his hands. Sirius and Remus were both unbeatable, and knowing them, the match would go all night. As Sirius's cries echoed through the room (his pawn was the first throughout the entire game to be captured), James heard a light, feminine chuckle. His eyes strayed from the game and onto the white-clad figure reading by the moonlight. The moonlight illuminated her face, and there was a silvery glow around her.

Lily looked up again, this time Remus had lost his most loyal knight. She didn't go back to her book immediately, though, the stranger, _Remember, it's James. You know him, he was the boy who.._ Was watching her with a knowing smirk slowly taking over his face. She went back to her book, shaking her head with a sort of odd smile on her face.

James stood up, knowing his friends wouldn't notice if he left. ("ARGH!! MY QUEEN!!!") He slowly strode over to the ottoman, knowing Lily wouldn't look up. He sat down like he had been sitting earlier, and began to watch her read. Her eyes flickered upwards for a moment, but obediently went back to her book.

"Shakespeare is such a fool." Lily said after a bit of silence.

"Whatever do you mean?" James asked quietly.

"Have you ever read Shakespeare?" She asked, closing her book.

"Most of his plays, a few of his sonnets." James answered like he had before. He was watching the outside activity, either that or staring off into space.

"None of his romances are ever like real love. Like Twelfth Night, for instance. Everybody is so giddy and full of love that they skip logic entirely. Not everyone is like that. Romeo and Juliet, the lovers were so devoted to one another that they _died_ for each other, nobody would do that. And the characters that fought, all skipping any chance of peace talks and going straight to violence. Shakespeare is a fool." She said, opening her book again and going back to reading.

"Do you believe in love as strong as the love Shakespeare writes about?" James asked with great interest.

"I have no belief in love. Do remember that I live in a society where love is wanted but never acquired." She said, still not looking up.

"Then tell me, I do not understand, why do you socialize with strictly potential suitors? Why do you not forget the society you are used to and bring yourself down to Hogwarts, earth, even?" He asked with a little disdain dripping from his voice. "I am also in high society and my parents are deeply in love."

"Potential suitors are simply for amusement. My parents will select my husband, and the society I am used to would never allow me beyond the boundaries that I have already stretched by coming here. And if you have to ask, my family was once of nobility, but not high nobility. They had no choices under the Queen or King's will, and they have not changed since. I am spending my trust fund on Hogwarts rather than being silly and frivolous and attending some French charm school. Tell me, Mister Potter, do you not know that asking too many questions is rude?" She asked in the same cool voice.

"Of course I know it. I am simply interested in you. Do you not know, Madame Evans, that snapping, no matter how well concealed, reveals problems with one's personality?" He asked in a teasing voice that finally seemed to find itself.

"Are you well-traveled, Mister Potter?" Lily asked, still supposedly reading her book.

"My relatives have been dieing all over North America and Europe, if that answers your question." He said, moving closer to the arm of her chair.

"Damn." She swore, putting down her book in frustration.

"Lady Lillian, did I hear your delicate lips form such an apalling word?" James asked in fake surprise.

"Yes." She spat, still holding her head high.

"Why, Lady Lillian?" He asked, moving closer to her. He stroked her hand with one of his index fingers.

"You fit the profile. Arrogant, rich, intelligent, and a pet peeve of mine." She said, jerking her hand away and opened her book furiously.

"The profile of what, may I ask?" He said. He had been moving so close that as he buried his nose in her hair, she could feel his warm, pleasant breath on the back of her neck.

"Somebody my parents would make me marry." She said, slamming her book finally. She stood up with a jerk.

"Thank you, Mister Potter, for your unwanted, annoying company. I do hope we can have a civil conversation in the future." She said coolly. She turned on the heel of her foot and headed to the bottom of the stairs leading to her dormitory.

"Lady Lillian, I have been quite civil, friendly even." James called after her.

She turned to face him. "Do not call me Lady Lillian. Ever." She said in an icy voice. She turned again, her curls bouncing furiously after her.

"Jesus, James. What did you do?" Remus said, not looking up from the chessboard.

"I shook up Lady Lillian's perfect life. I believe I'm going to enjoy this year." He said, as he went to sit where he had been before he went to speak to Lily. "Who's winning?"


	2. Quidditch and Ministry of Magic Balls

The Gilded Lily Part Two 

The Gilded Lily Part Two

"Sirius, who is Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" James asked, as he delighted walking backwards in the corridors of Hogwarts. It was a fine Saturday morning in October, the morning following James's arrival and the Marauders, now re-formed were taking the longest ways possible to the Dining Hall for breakfast.

"Rafe, but he isn't the one who decides who gets on the team. The manager does. Rafe has a good say in it, but the manager has supreme decision. They have to live up to Gryffindor standards, and they have to follow the code." Sirius said absentmindedly, as if reciting. Everybody knew that Sirius and Remus knew everything about everything at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Quidditch, the Ministry of Magic and Godric's Hollow. Nobody knew how, but they knew.

"Who exactly is the manager?" James asked as they finally reached the Dining Hall. Remus stifled a laugh, and Peter had to change the subject awkwardly to Herbology question seventeen.

"The manager of the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Umm.. I dunno.." Sirius said, avoiding James's eyes.

"I am!" Said a perky feminine voice at Gryffindor table, behind them. James and his friends turned to see who was speaking.

Sirius slapped his knee like the information had just escaped him. "That's right, you are."

"Who wants to know?" Lily asked. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Jackie and Jonathan were huddled behind her as she (apparently by the paper in front of her) was designing the try-out announcement.

"Nobody." Remus said quickly. "Come on, James, let's go to Hogsmeade or something."

"It's not a Hogsmeade weekend." James said, not at all like himself.

"Since when has that stopped us?" Remus added quickly, pulling James by the sleeve and the group (minus James) willingly turned around.

"What positions are available for the Quidditch team?" James said, turning right back around.

"I believe, Mister Potter, Keeper, a Chaser position and a Beater position." She said in a joyful tone, as if the conversation of the preceding evening had not even happened. "Try-outs are next Saturday, so we can train before the first match. Sirius, dear, you will be commentating again, won't you?"

"Alas, if there is a Beater position, I will have to hand the job over to Remus." Sirius said sweetly. He walked over towards her as if he was Tangoing with himself and Lily stifled a laugh. He seemed to notice the crowd behind her for the first time. "Where, darling Lily, is your entourage of suitors?"

"Somewhere where the sun don't shine. Business is business and Quidditch is Quidditch. Besides that and my studies, nothing else would keep them away from me, if not for the delightful Marauders." She said, turning back to the shiny sheet in front of her. "Beater, eh? I'll write you down for it this very moment."

"Jonathan, old chap, will you forever spend your days in the bask of Lady Lillia- Miss Evans's glow, or will you come and join your cousin and his friends on a trip to the kitchens? I am sure Lady Lillia- Miss Evans will find someone else just as worthy to hold the velvet cushions beneath her feet." James said teasingly. Jonathan got up, though reluctantly, and the five began to leave.

"Pray tell, Miss Evans, if Lady Lillian isn't quite appropriate, what is?" James boomed, causing the Gryffindor table to look up. "I'm not accustomed to call anybody Miss unless they're old maid friends of my mother's."

"Skip obscenities, profanities and Lady Lillian- ("Damn, that's half my list!") And I am fine with whatever you choose to call me, Mister Potter. Pray tell why you hold up a trip to the kitchens when you know Sirius's stomach is aching." Lily said, still designing and etching into the shiny sheet.

"One more thing (Sirius groaned). The name is James." He said, urging his friends to go on without him.

"Witty. He knows his name. Maybe he can try out for the Mickey Mouse club instead of the Quidditch team." Lily muttered under her breath, disappointed that the wise crack was wasted on the simple fact that nobody cared.

"And the worst part, James, is that she said 'Are all Potters this annoying or is it just the males?' What I did to shake her I have no idea." Jonathan said in his innocent way.

"It is my fault. I suppose she was still livid about how I ruined her evening yesterday," James began, but at Jonathan's confused face, he began to explain. "I brought up a touchy subject. You say this was early in the morning? Perhaps she isn't a morning person. Apologize in these words, 'I have no idea what I could have done, but whatever it is, it must have deserved your reaction. Will you forgive me?' Knowing girls like her, she probably will apologize for being so short with you." 

"Well put from a wise man!" Sirius said through a mouthful of food.

"How's my mother doing?" Jonathan piped as he selected a piece of toast from the tray the house elves had brought them. 

"She's doing just fine. It's the ones out of England that Tom is prying on." James said sadly, breaking a breadstick from the night before.

"Tom?" Remus asked, in confusion.

"He was one of my grandmother's ex-boyfriends, before my grandfather. He's been upset with our family ever since. I suppose he has to convince her that he loves her by killing off our relatives. I always said he was cuckoo." James mused.

"Who is Tom?" Remus persisted. He was still confused.

"Have you heard of Voldemort?" Jonathan asked quietly. The bustle of the house elves' work became instantly silenced.

"Vaguely. My dad reads us bits from the paper about him." Peter said finally. (A/N: Remember in the first book it said (set in 1981 for the first chapter) that Voldy had been rampaging for eleven years? Well, this is in late sixties, early seventies, when L and MWPP were about fifteen or so, because Lupin was thirty-something in PoA)

"That's him." James said quietly. There were a few gasps in the room, but Remus still had a question as James continued to eat his oatmeal.

"What would give her the urge to even want to consider him for a date?" He asked.

"She says he was different then, innocent, abandoned. He's an orphan, you know." James said, putting down his spoon. "I kind of pity the guy. He doesn't have any way to solve his problems."

"I pity Lily." Sirius said. "She only has one problem."

"What's that?" Peter, Jonathan, Remus and James chorused.

"James." Sirius said, then belching.

Lily surveyed herself in the mirror. She wore a white cable sweater and a pair of black velvet pants, but the air had turned nippy all of a sudden and she had no idea what to put on over it. As she zipped up her boots, she suddenly remembered the new pea coat that was hanging in her wardrobe. It was double-breasted, and with a matching wool beret, she would be stylish _and_ warm. She slipped on her chenille gloves and headed down the stairs.

Rafe was waiting impatiently for her. "Lily, doll, you look glamorous as always, but this is QUIDDITCH," He began, as if it were his life, which Lily would bet her trust fund that it was, "And we've got people waiting."

"Did you hear about what happens to the team that wins the first Quidditch match?" She chattered as he pulled her through the portrait hole. "The team to win the first Quidditch match will go to the Ministry of Magic Ball, after a trip to the Magik World Theatre in Godric's Hollow. It's being held at the hotel next to the Magik World Theatre."

"And they are to go alone?"

"Certainly not. They may have dates. Only the team members, so I couldn't go unless somebody asked me. And the commentator, too, I believe. The people there will be headmasters and headmistresses of all of the finest magic schools in the world, and the Ministers around the world. Dumbledore will accompany them. If we don't win, we'll be under the rampage of McGonagall for an entire week!"

"Why would a ball and a trip to the theatre take a week?" Rafe asked.

"I hate to break it to you, Rafe, but the ball lasts three nights, (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) then on Tuesday we get to see a Quidditch match, Thursday we have a shopping trip, and Saturday before we leave, we do a little sightseeing. We have to give a report on all of it at the Halloween feast. And get this, any tests or homework due that week we don't have to do!!"

"You're saying we like you're going." Rafe said with a laugh.

"But we're going to win!" She insisted.

"But who's going to ask you?"

"Like nobody on the Quidditch team will ask me." She said, with a laugh. They finally reached the Quidditch stadium and sat down. Lily conjured up a megaphone.

"Who's first?" She demanded.

"Rafe, I completely trust you, but on the matter of the Keeper, I simply refuse!" Lily could be heard as she and Rafe entered. (A/N: This is in Jonathan's POV) My heart skipped a beat. This time it was not because I could hear Lily approaching (and I notice when it is about Quidditch, not even Jackie is with her. Only Rafe), but because I had tried out for the team.

"Lily, I have given you fair reign on this for, what, four years? This time I have to use my judgment on this. He is AN excellent player, and a Potter, I might add." Rafe said. My heart started pumping wildly. They were talking about me! Lily still must have been livid.

"Fine, Rafe. Only if you insure me a date for that Ministry of Magic benefit." 

"How are you so sure we're going to win?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I hate to say it, but the ENTIRE team (including Potter ) is excellent! We are going to the Ministry of Magic benefit, and you know it!"

"You want to make the announcements?" Rafe asked, blushing. I knew this because he came in with a flushed face.

"Certainly." 

Lily had a shiny red nose and rosy cheeks from the cold, and she whistled while she slowly peeled off her coat and beret and mittens, and found the Common Room staring at her.

"OH! Sorry. I know you all have been waiting patiently. So, we have come to the final decision. Black for Beater, Kensington for Chaser and Potter for Keeper. Second strings for the Seeker are Potter and Ahmed." She chirped.

"Uh, Lily?" Sirius said, breaking the uncomfortable silence all around the Common Room.

"Yes, Sirius?" She said slowly, letting people know that her good mood better not be ruined.

"Which Potter for which position?" Remus butted in.

Lily gave a weak smile. Suddenly she became weak at the knees and the feeling in her stomach was definitely not romantic, but she suddenly remembered what home was like, in the days of Petunia getting along with her, when, when..

"James Potter for Keeper and Jonathan for second string." She said slowly, barely being able to get her words out. "Excuse me, I have to.." She couldn't even decide what excuse she was going to use. She just rushed up the stairs.

"Lily Evans is dangerous." James proclaimed as the Marauders trudged up the stairs.

"Why must you annoy her?" Remus asked.

"I don't try. She hates me. I don't know why she was nice to me. She hates me." James said as he opened the door.

"She doesn't hate you. But, pray tell, why do you think she is dangerous?" Sirius said, mocking the cool voice that James had used that very morning.

"She just is! I bring up a touchy subject and she goes ballistic in her own, subtle way. And now she almost wouldn't let me on the Quidditch team because I screwed up! And she's got Jonathan all messed up.. She's dangerous." James insisted as he flopped down on his bed. It was nice to be home. The grand estate was always too much and the hotels were stuffy and had so many rules. Hogwarts was home. Yeah, Hogwarts was home.

Lily never cried. Jackie remembered that. Even through the times of her parents' divorce (or rather, Lily's father had found a new trophy wife who never bothered to ask where her youngest stepdaughter went on holiday, who was simply glad she had one less person to look after), Lily's eyes had just filled up a bit.

Now as Jackie searched Gryffindor Tower for Lily (they had plans to do some late-night research on historical female figures in magic, mostly just talk), she remembered clearly that never, ever, would anybody make Lily cry.

But, Jackie mused, how would she know? Lily was hardly unpopular the year Jackie had started, but it wasn't until Jackie's second year that Lily was the next big thing. Nobody but Sirius, Remus, Rafe and Peter had cared about her until Jackie's second year. What about before.

The first thing Jackie could remember about Lily was passing her at the train station. It was in Jackie's first year, and she could clearly hear her say "I, for one, am glad James Potter isn't coming this year. I simply.."

"But Lily," Sirius, unknown to Jackie then, protested, "You never had a problem with him before!"

"If you knew what happened this summer, you would know why I have a problem with him now." She said icily. That was all Jackie remembered before rushing into a compartment with some other first years.

Jackie was amazed, appalled, and all at once relieved to find Lily crying in her favorite chair. Good. Lily wasn't perfect.

James tied his "Hugh Hephner" (as Sirius put it) robe tighter and quietly crept down the stairs. He didn't want to think of how McGonagall would kill him three times and add barbecue sauce, so he kept it quiet. He froze when he saw Jackie Kensington consoling a sobbing someone in the chair.

"Wow, Lily, I didn't think you cried."

"I don't, if anybody asks. I just can't stand the fact that he's back and doesn't even remember."

"Remember what?"

James was about to go back upstairs, firstly unwilling to eavesdrop, secondly unwilling to hear Lily Evans badmouth him.

"Did you know James's mother is a high society Muggle heiress?" Lily said. James stopped, wanting to hear what this was leading to.

"I had no ide-"

"Well, she is. After Hogwarts, she hadn't been seen in years. But after the family representative died, she had to go in his place to the Embassy Ball. She decided to take James and her husband and James's little sister Jennifer to the Embassy Ball and I attended with (this she said in an icy voice) Claire and my father. This was just after second year and I had the hugest crush on James at the time."


	3. Memories

The Gilded Lily Part Three

The Gilded Lily Part Three

A/N: This is probably ninety-five percent Lily speaking. The song is Enya's 'Only Time'

_Who can say where the road goes?_

_Where the day flows?_

_Only time.._

"It was my first opportunity to wear a formal dress. It was white, I remember, and I recognized James and his mother instantly. His mother was the one who helped me onto the platform, and as I approached her, Claire dug her nails into my arm. 'Who do you think you are, approaching such a grand person like that? Do you know who she is?!?!' I said 'Certainly. Her name is Adrienne Potter and I school with her son. I know her _personally_.' I remember that because that was the only moment I felt above my stepmother, who I knew could only curtsy in Mrs. Potter's presence. James murmured I looked nice and Jennifer was excited to see me, I attended her dance school in the summer. I love little Jennifer."

And who can say if your love grows 

_As your heart chose_

_Only time..._

"I saw so many important figures, Jackie. I kind of miss it- The parties, the music- The only part I don't miss is being at home. By then Claire had managed to marry Petunia off to some middle-class man who didn't even know about her dowry. Meaning more money for Claire. I saw the Queen herself, Jackie. I had been sick of my father's crowd and did not want to make my stepmother angrier, so I stayed with little Jennifer. James was at my side when we watched the Queen walk by."

Who can say why your heart sighs 

_As your love flies?_

_Only time.._

_ _

"After the Queen passed, James took my hand and led me to a place where the little children were being put to sleep. He told his parents that he wanted to spend the rest of the night alone with me, not with Jennifer. And he also said that he didn't want her to be a bother to them. He danced with me a lot. He taught me to dance right there. Though there weren't many Tangos and other such dances, he promised to come over to my mansion and teach me. After that night my stepmother was raving because the Queen had asked her who the cute young couple dancing was. But for me, it was just bliss being there in James's arms as he taught me to waltz."

And who can say why your heart cries 

_When your love lies?_

_Only time.._

"The best part for me was that he led me out to the staircase and told me he thought I was great. He kissed me. Not on the lips of course. We were young people of high society. It would have been a scandal if someone had walked by. But still, Jackie, I was in bliss."

Who can say where the roads meet? 

_Where they might be?_

_Only time.._

_ _

"As the night closed down, and people were gathering their furs and purses, James pulled me aside from my father as we began to depart. I thought perhaps he was asking for my address so he could pay me a call. But no. He broke my heart. Right after he had let me soar."

_And who can say when the day sleeps_

_If the night keeps all your heart_

_...night keeps all your heart..._

_ _

"He asked me not to mention it to anyone at Hogwarts. I was so unpopular then. He didn't want to ruin his perfect reputation by dating an outcast. Or even that he danced with some outcast. He also reminded me that if I did tell someone, that he would simply say his mother made him do all those things."

Who can say if your love grows? 

_As your heart chose?_

_Only time.._

"I asked him if his mother **did** make him. Jennifer had toddled to his feet. She heard me ask. She insisted that James had been mooning over me at home, but James shook her off. After a while, silence, he finally spoke."

And who can say where the road goes? 

_Where the day flows?_

_Only time.._

"He looked me in the eyes. 'Yes.' He snapped. 'My mother made me dance with you. My mother made me be polite to you, compliment you.' But then, he looked down. He looked back into my eyes. 'But she didn't make me kiss you.' He said it so quietly, as if it didn't matter. It mattered to me. As I climbed into the Rolls Royce, hearing my stepmother chatter happily that her stepdaughter had been complimented by the Queen, I only thought of James. How I would hate him. Eternally. Forever."

_Who knows? Only time.._

_ _

"He's not worth it, Lily. Let's go upstairs." Jackie and Lily passed the boys' staircase, not noticing James Potter collapse onto a step, sinking his head into his hands.

_Who knows? Only time..._

James knew that Lily would never forgive him. Ever. Not unless... He didn't love her, that was certainly true, but he did enjoy her company. Perhaps..


	4. To Be Intrigued

"Hey

"Hey! Hello, William.. Yeah, come to the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff game this Saturday at three and see Gryffindor kick butt! Buy your Gryffindor pennants here! Show your Gryffindor spirit, or just support the Gryffindor fundraiser for, well, the OUTRAGEOUS parties we have in the Common Room! Get your pennants here!! We also have individual fan stations, Potter, Black, Hernandez, Fletcher, Bones, Figg aaand Kensington! Posters, rosettes, we got 'em all!! This is the first game of the season! Also subscribe the unbiased tapes of Remus Lupin's commentating, and if you subscribe now, we'll throw in 'The Best of Sirius Black' for just three Knuts extra!!! Get your Gryffindor pennants here! We also have charms for the Hogwarts official wristlets and necklaces! And you there- Wright! Buy a promise ring for your girlfriend with her house's charms, get all three if you want a definite promise!!!" Lily boomed. The money was really for new uniforms, and maybe some treats when they went to the theatre and the Quidditch match, but parties were a much better excuse.

Many in the Great Hall that passed were either supporting Gryffindor at the match, were Gryffindors themselves, or were dating Gryffindors. By the end of the morning, Lily had one-hundred fifty-seven Galleons and the most expensive piece of merchandise of them all.

It was a locket. A golden locket with three blood-red stones (representing the practically flesh-and-blood relationship between three of the houses), lions, and on the flip side, an actual game of Quidditch was carved in. It was ornate, but simply gorgeous. Lily fingered it delicately. She would never buy it- It was stolen from the Gryffindor estate in a Slytherin raid, and it belonged to the Heir of Gryffindor. She locked it in the lockbox with extra Charms and expensive, heavy-duty locks, and went to find the Quidditch team.

"Rafe, Jackie, anybody?" She called through the locker room. She headed out to the Quidditch field. She could see someone making loops in the air. She narrowed her eyes and put one of her hands horizontally parallel to her eyebrows. "Hello?!?!"

"Coming." The person called in a very distant voice.

"Do you know where Rafe is?" She asked, not at all liking the silence.

"You like doing everything your way, don't you?" The person asked. Who did this person think he was?

"Yes. Where's Rafe?" She asked impatiently. This person was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Asking the Head Girl to the Ministry benefit." The person answered simply as her flew closer.

Lily smirked. "And he said _I_ was over-confident in the team."

"What dances do you think the orchestra will whip out?" The person asked, emphasizing dance. Lily froze for a moment, and the person chuckled.

"Waltzes, minuets, you know the drill. Hardly anything interesting." She said in a small voice.

"Do you know how to dance?" He said, again emphasizing dance.

Lily went into a dreamy, monotone voice. "Somebody taught me once."

"She didn't make me."

"What?!?"

"She didn't make me dance with you."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Lily managed to stutter.

"She didn't make me dance with you. I had been longing to."

"I don't know who you are, and I don't want to find out. Just leave me alone!" She ran. Far away, almost forgetting the lockbox.

"I guess I touched down an another sensitive area." James said as he landed. "This is going to be more fun than I thought."

"Of course I accept your apology. I was a bit short the other morning, Jonathan, will you forgive me?" Lily said in her most whimpering voice. _A lady is always polite, even the most uncomfortable situations._

"Would you mind watching the game with me?" Jonathan asked quickly. "No strings attached, just watch the match with me."

"I can't. I," Lily began, but she saw hurt in his eyes. "I dearly wish I could, but I am watching the game with Dumbledore and Remus. We have the top box."

"Well, well, well, then.. I suppose the top box is quite a unique opportunity. I'll see you around.." Jonathan began, turning around. And, as if on an after note, "Lily."

"Rafe, somebody must go with me to Hogsmeade!" Lily insisted as she followed Rafe around in the most pestering way.

"You cannot be serious that nobody will go to Hogsmeade with you. With all the boys that are trailing you? With Jackie and Jonathan worshipping you?" Rafe teased as he sat down in the library.

"Jackie is doing her homework, Jonathan, I don't know what his problem is, and I need someone on the team to give me a second opinion!" She insisted loudly, earning a tuba-like "SHHHH!!!"

"Let's see- Sirius has a detention, Arabella's working, Munguldus is at the prefects' meeting you should be at, Ronan is in the hospital wing, we'll have to pull Ahmed out to replace him, and _I,_ perchance you care, have a date with Helen Guerra."

"Not Head Girl Helen Guerra?" Lily asked, raising one eyebrow. Rafe stopped blushing for a moment to become serious.

"Yes, Head Girl Helen Guerra. If, I mean, when we win, she will be my date to Godric's Hollow. That leaves James. But you don't like him, do you?" Rafe asked, raising both eyebrows. It was Lily's turn to snap upwards.

"If you must know, I preferred the first three minutes I thought he was a mysterious dark stranger." She snapped. "But if it must be, it must be. Who will be my date for the trip to Godric's Hollow, Rafe?" 

"I dunno, it'll have to be arranged. Sirius is taking Missy ("From Hufflepuff?!?!"), Remus is going with Jenny, Arabella is going with Ronan, Munguldus is taking Jackie, so that leaves..."

"NOOOOO!!! NOT HIM AGAIN!!!" ("SHUSH, MISS EVANS!!!")

"You're the one that wants to go."

"Urgh.. Like he'd say yes anyway.. I'll go find the stupid git and drag him to Hogsmeade." She muttered.

Remus could see her anger from the moment she stepped in. She was a bit breathless, but nonetheless angry.

"Where.. Is... James?!?!" She demanded, taking short breaths between each word."

"Hogsmeade, Lily." Remus said, and saw Lily's face get even angrier. Remus was certainly afraid that she'd kill him.

"Oh, and, Lily?" He asked timidly. She dropped the anger for a moment and turned to see what Remus had to say.

"Don't kill him until AFTER the game on Saturday- I want to go to Godric's Hollow." Remus said, adding a playful smirk. Lily just trotted on, angry as ever.

As she swept herself into Hogsmeade, she added her own little warning to Remus's statement. _Don't kill him until AFTER the trip to Godric's Hollow- You want to attend the balls._

James was leaning on a building at the entrance to Hogsmeade. He whistled at her, and enjoyed watching her face go from determination to full-fledged PMS in a matter of seconds.

"And what the HELL do you think YOU'RE doing here?" She demanded, placing her small hands on her tiny hips.

"We do have some uniform shopping to do, don't we?" He said, as if stating the obvious.

"Move it, Potter, I have no patience to be a lady today." She said, walking very quickly towards the Quidditch shop.

"You know, Lily.." He began, waiting for her to stop. She did, turned around, and put her right hand on her hip, tapping her fingers away at them, impatient.

"You're kind of cute when you're mad."

"URGH!!!!!!"

"Okay, Gryffindor logo on front, name and number on back, what do you think?" Lily asked showing James the three-millionth uniform choice in the store.

"Well.." He began, knowing what was going to happen next.

"MAKE A GOD DAMN DECISION!!!"

"I think we should have two uniforms. One for when it's warmer, one for when it's like this." He said, hoping she wouldn't snap his head off.

"Fine. Give me the names of every player, we'll get an official team sweater for McGonagall, Dumbledore, Remus and me, and the names of the reserves. I'll pick the team sweaters.. You pick the numbers."

He counted off the names, ticking them off his fingers, and then brought up a new subject.

"What about varsity jackets for the players?" He asked as she handed the order slip to the clerk. His hand moved closer to hers.

"Are you an American or something?!?" She demanded. "It was your idea for the jersey-style designs, and now varsity jackets?" 

"Don't exactly keep your composure around me, do you? I just thought that we should have something to take to our families. Varsity sweaters for the reserves, and the school will keep our jerseys, or retire them, or something- I want something to pass down to my sons and grandsons. Maybe even my daughters, and their daughters." James said sincerely. He put his hand on hers. She didn't even notice. She was too busy studying his eyes.

"You do have a heart, don't you?" She said after a while.

"Last time I checked. I suppose you will be my date to the Ministry benefit?" He asked. He noticed her hair was straight today, with the top part pulled back into a sleek ponytail, that she wasn't wearing a coat or a cloak, but a thick sweater, and that she was firmly gripping her clipboard.

"Sure. Might not be half-bad if I can remember how to waltz." She said with an air of meaninglessness.

"I'm sorry." He said finally. "I never meant to hurt you."

"What?"

"You didn't think I remembered the Embassy Ball, did you? The memory plays back in my mind like Brady Bunch re-runs. Every day, every moment I'm with you. You've grown up so much, Lily, since the last time I saw you."

"That comes up to sixty-seven Galleons, Miss." The clerk said. "We'll have them delivered to you tomorrow. Your name, please."

"Lily. Lily Evans.." She murmured, taking a moment to stare at James's eyes. She then whipped herself back into reality and paid the bill. "I expect them delivered to me before I even approach my supper."

"Of course, Miss." The clerk said automatically.

"Goodbye James. I have to meet Arabella for some butterbeers. Have a nice-" She didn't finish her sentence. She just rushed out of there as fast as she could. Hating James Potter was going to be hard.


	5. Plans Begin

Lily's boring entourage caught up with her by the time she reached the Three Broomsticks

Lily's boring entourage caught up with her by the time she reached the Three Broomsticks. She let them buy her and Arabella and Jackie drinks, but after that she quickly dismissed them.

Arabella was the first to notice something. She had been Lily's friend since the beginning and it was she that comforted her when the news of her mother's death in a car crash, when the news of her father's new wife, and when (unknown to Arabella) that James Potter had broken her heart.

"What did he do?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. Lily seemed to recover quickly from her dazy state and played it _very_ cool.

"Arabella, darling, an entire make-up factory could not hide the ugliness of your face when you do that. Doesn't compliment your eyes in the least, let alone that _sweater_." She said in a manner not at all cruel.

Arabella's most fabulous feature (even if you ask Snape) was her amazingly purple eyes. She was one-fourth-Veela, and if not for her temper (which had tragic results, being part-Veela) she would've been extremely more sought after than Lily. The sweater was a violent purple, which made her silvery-blonde hair and her purple eyes the most gorgeous sight. But Lily was right, her face was very ugly when she squinted like that.

"For your information, Mister Potter hasn't done a thing. In fact, I will be joining you for the trip to Godric's Hollow." Lily began, pausing to let those words have their effect. "And tomorrow I plan to use my every wile to convince him to teach me a minuet or two. Wouldn't want to stand out. Say, Jackie? Since I'm going now, could I join the shopping group? To make sure I don't get the same dress?"

Jackie snorted. "As if you would."

Lily grinned proudly. She was going to break Potter's heart. Little did she know, his thoughts were exactly vice-versa.

"She has seriously broken Jonathan completely. The two years that I'm gone he's totally brainwashed, and then she spites him because of me, and then breaks his heart. I'll get my revenge on her, I swear. But to make matters worse, she's trusted me. This is getting more and more fun my the minute, Sarah." James said to a Ravenclaw who happened to be Lily's greatest rival in the Ravenclaws' best subject, Charms. She was more than delighted to hear the plan, and knowingly wouldn't tell anyone. They would tell Sirius or Remus, who in turn would tell Lily..

Of course. This had to be her own special secret. With James.

"Part of the whole thing is that after I've gotten her thinking that I'm in love with her, I either go for her greatest rival, her hugest fan or her best friend. Which do you think is best?" James asked, not really caring what she said, he just needed someone to confide in so he didn't spill.

It took all the self-control Sarah could muster not to shout instantly- "Her greatest rival!" Little did she know James was using her too. And that nobody's plans were going as planned.


	6. The Gryffindor Boys Take Action

"Anybody seen Lily

"Anybody seen Lily?!" Blossom called from the dormitory's doorway, her voice carrying down the stairs.

"Anybody seen James?!" Sirius asked from his spot in the middle of the Common Room, not looking up even.

"Oh no." Remus muttered in true fear.

The Quidditch team members (minus James, Lily, Arabella and Jackie) were the only ones who looked up. Their eyes filled with question.

"I didn't think she would do it. I seriously didn't think she would do it. She came in here, maybe two or three hours ago, and she demanded to know where James was. I said he was in Hogsmeade and try not to kill him- She was really mad, Rafe.. Really mad." Remus muttered melodramatically, crazily. He was choking back sobs. "I didn't think she would do it.."

Remus looked up slyly from where he had been "crying". He enjoyed these performances, but he was truly worried.

"Jackie- Do you remember what I told you about the Embassy Ball?" Lily began, over a nice butterbeer (thanks to William Davies's growing pocket money supply). "Did you tell Arabella?"

"She did." Arabella said. "No wonder you hate him so."

"Remember third year started late? Because of You-Know-Who's attacks? The night of the Embassy Ball was the twenty-first of September. James had taken me away long enough so we could enjoy a nice night in London. It was kind of sweet. He may have broken my heart, but he sure knows how to show a girl a nice time." She murmured. "I was glad the year ended late. Less time with Claire."

"What kind of nice time?" Jackie asked with a sort of twinkle in her eyes.

"Yes, what kind of nice time?" Rafe muttered in his dark corner. "He's not here but he's dead. At least in my eyes."

"You mean James attended the Embassy Ball?" Sirius whispered in wonder. The males of the Quidditch team (minus James) were all listening to the scrapes of the girls' conversation that Rafe had overheard.

"So he broke her heart. That was why she was so angry with him when we came back. If only we knew what kind of time-" Remus said. Munguldus looked at him with huge eyes. Remus was quiet, but looking at them, as if expecting them to do something.

"Here he goes." Sirius muttered. 

"Huh?" Ronan asked. 

"When he ends his sentence like that, he wants you to ask him how to figure it out." Sirius said. "It's quite annoying."

"Fine, fine. Why would we need to know what he did that night?" Rafe asked in frustration.

"You know the nights of the Ball? Well, the second night we could send special memos to them saying that they were actually supposed to do this and this that night- Still in their formal wear, so they could relive the night they spent together. Maybe then.." Remus began, but Munguldus interrupted.

"But what good would that do?" He asked with exasperation. "They'd kill each other."

"Mung, you are so obtuse! Have you ever noticed that Lily gets a teensy bit emotional when somebody ever mentions dance or anything that might be connected to the Embassy Ball (We didn't know, but now that your think about it..) and that she is normally in a weak mood? James may be part evil, but nothing distresses him more than a Gryffindor in despair- Especially a female Gryffindor in despair. He finds it his duty to make sure they're all happy. Gryffindor blood runs through him, you know." Sirius said, as if the very idea was obvious.

"So if we find out how they spent that night we could possibly save them from killing each other before the Quidditch season is over?" Ronan said after a moment.

"We could possibly save them from killing each other before the year is over!" Munguldus said happily.

"We could possibly save them from killing each other before they graduate!" Sirius said, in the stir of emotion.

"Even friends! They could be friends!" Rafe said, completely losing it.

The sound of chirping crickets on a summer evening filled the room.

"Dream on, Rafe. Like they'd ever be friends." Remus snorted.

"We would have to get Jackie and Arabella to tell us." Ronan said logically.

"They wouldn't say a word. They'd think they were betraying her." Munguldus said with wisdom.

"Not if they thought Lily wanted them to tell us.." Rafe said. The five boys grinned evilly. "Or, we could just do it the old-fashioned way. Spy. I'm sure James would also spill if he had enough butterbeer."

"Psst.. Davies." Rafe said as he slyly sat down next to William at the bar. "Lily and her friends have been a little worried lately. As captain of the Quidditch team, I think they need more butterbeer to, you know, lighten them up."

"Bella, you've spent the entire weekend with your girlfriends. I want to talk to you." Ronan said. Rafe's words echoed in his head. _Divide and conquer._

"You, too, Jackie. I want to know what corsage I should get you." Munguldus stuttered. The two managed to lead the girls away from Lily.

"James, what do you know about the Embassy Ball? I've got a Muggle Studies assignment to complete. It's due tomorrow." Sirius said with a huge air of despair and worry.

"Lily.. You know the Earth, Wind and Fire song 'September'? Do the words have any signifigance to you.. Like 'the twenty-first night of September'?" Remus asked slyly as he watched the slightly butterbeer-drunk Lily collapse into a chair beside him.


	7. Lady Lillian

"Perfect

"Wafe? Wah you goin'?" Asked a slightly drunk Arabella.

"Quidditch. Boys only." He muttered as the five left the Common Room.

"Perfect." Rafe whispered as the five boys looked over the little notecards and slips of white paper spread out on a table in the most secluded corner of the library.

"The night of shopping day we're supposed to go sightseeing in formal wear, as we're Hogwarts Select. If Lily found out that we took her away from a Ministry benefit, she'd kill us. But she's been to Godric's Hollow many times. We'll do last minute sight-seeing and shopping the morning we leave. So we'll arrange it for that night. Agreed?" Rafe asked, and he got nods around the table.

"Sorry I'm late." Came a breathless voice behind them. "I had to talk to somebody."

Remus was the only one sitting in a chair that could see who it was. He began gathering up special notes and papers, and the group caught on.

"How'd you find out, J-j-j-james?" Munguldus managed to stutter. "The only other person who knew about this was Arabella, but she was, well, drunk."

"Peter overheard. I am so, so sorry I'm late, Rafe. If Lily found out, she'd get me thrown off the team." James said as he pulled up the nearest chair and sat in it backwards. "What's this?"

Sirius was cursing the little rat when suddenly he noticed one of the slips of paper was in James's hands.

Each of the boys silently prayed to themselves as James read. Hoping to their dieing day that it would not reveal too much. "I thought we were going sight-seeing that night. Oh well. Roller disco? Dumbledore is trying a bit too hard. I haven't done any roller disco in, I don't know.."

"Two years. The night of the Embassy Ball." Ronan said, not thinking.

James, who had been in a dreamy state for the last few sentences, suddenly snapped. "Yes, that's right. How did you know?"

"Well, uh..." Ronan began, but somebody interrupted.

"James? The delivery girl won't let me sign for them- The idiot says you're the one that has to sign. James?" Lily was irritated today, but (all the guys remember thinking) glamorous at the same time. She was simple today. Black athletic pants, a black halter-top and short-sleeved, zip-up, white sweater and her hair was still straight and pulled back, but she wore her thin, wire glasses with the tiny lenses.

All six of them had not expected her in the least. Their jaws dropped. She smiled. She still had a clipboard in one nook of her arm, and a fluffy white pencil in the other hand.

"Didn't know I looked _that_ great. James, I'm waiting..."

"Miss Deb- Hold the attitude and try the patience. Unlike everything else in your life, I am not handed over on a silver platter." James said, getting up and not at all noticing the tongue sticking out of her mouth. "Keep going around like that and people might think you're asking for something."

A chorus of "Dude!" or "That was COLD!!!" cut the silence.

"It's not like I am the one who wants you, it's that Ravenclaw whore Sarah who's delivering the uniforms." Lily snapped. James froze for a moment.

"Fine. Go and sign for the uniforms, I'll hand them out and you can go roll in the hay with Sarah later. I don't have time for this." Lily snapped again, impatient that James wasn't ending this.

"Jesus, woman, shut up!" He said. She slapped him.

As the five Gryffindors watched the couple leave, Rafe assured the others. "This has to happen. And fast. We haven't had such a good Keeper in a _long _time."

A/N: THE DISCLAIMER IN THE BEGINNING WORKS FOR ALL! I WILL CONTINUE THIS SERIES. THIS IS ONE OF THE ONLY SERIES, BESIDES ANOTHER MWPP, L/J THAT I TRULY HAVE FAITH IN. AND GUESS WHAT? I PLAN FOR IT TO CONTINUE FOR MORE THAN A SINGLE YEAR!!! WOO-HOO!!!


	8. Falling Off Staircases

"You know you pass off as very arrogant

"You know you pass off as very arrogant? A little princess even?" James commented as Lily led him through the halls of Hogwarts. Lily was so completely wrapped up in his insult that she forgot where she was going.

"I know. Yes, I know. I am a cold, self-centered, heartless bitch. Are you happy now?" She said, throwing her clipboard and her fluffy pen over the railing of the staircase they were on. She also dropped the boxes of uniforms and sweaters to the floor.

"What is with you? Is it that time of the month or something?" He said, after compiling his thoughts.

"You know, I may have been impatient earlier, but you're the one who keeps throwing the first stone. It's not like I'm to blame for all of this 'rivalry'." She snapped. Both of them did not notice that the stair way was entirely changing its path. In fact, Lily was at the top step, about to step off, though the stairway was hanging over the Entrance Hall with a long way down. People began to stare.

"So it is that time of the month." He said casually. She snapped completely at that moment.

"You." She said in a low, dangerous whisper. She walked towards him. "You have seen NOTHING yet. You want PMS? You haven't seen it. You want angry? You won't believe it. You are going to regret everything. Everything." With that, she hopped up the last steps and took a deep lunge into, well, into nothing.

"LILY!" James shouted. She had managed to grab hold of the top of the moving staircase, which suddenly froze. He rushed up to where she was. He grabbed her by her wrist. "SOMEBODY HELP!!!"

People had just started to file in for supper, and they were watching with amazement. There was a girl, redheaded, hanging from a (what was once moving) staircase by her hand. And there was a dark-haired boy ("POTTER!" Somebody realized aloud.) using all his strength to keep her from falling. Somebody finally regained their wits and went to fetch Dumbledore. A number of Gryffindors (including Rafe) filed in at that moment.

"Lily, don't worry. Somebody's coming to help." James said, trying to keep her calm. Hell, he was also trying to keep himself calm. 

"Don't worry?!!?!?! Okay, grasp reality. I am hanging from a staircase!!! DON'T WORRY!?!" She shouted. Sirius, in spite of the danger, had to laugh.

"Fine. Worry. But give me your hand in the meantime." He ordered. She reluctantly pulled up her other hand, that was shaking. As Dumbledore got to the bottom of the staircase, James was pulling Lily up.

"How did this happen?" Dumbledore demanded the staircase. Oddly enough, James felt the sag of shame in the staircase. "Everyone, go to supper. Mister Potter and Miss Evans are fine, by what I can tell."

Everyone seemed to obey. Lily was still shocked. She couldn't stand straight. Dumbledore looked them over, shook his head and muttered something, but he turned around and left, leaving James holding a very limp Lily in his arms. 

"Lily?" He murmured in shock. "Lily, speak to me."

"James?" She managed to whisper. "James?"

"I'm here, Lily, I'm here. Keep talking to me." He said, genuinely worried.

"I don't think I can walk." She said, trying to sit up and look him straight in the eyes.

"I can handle that. Keep eye contact with me to prove you're okay, got it?" He ordered in a motherly fashion. Before Lily knew what he was doing, he carried her in his arms, as if a husband carrying his new bride up to their hotel room. Except for the fact that instead of lust in his eyes, there was worry and angst.

He carried Lily like that to the supper table, ignoring everyone's stares and questions. He wet a napkin and pressed it against her forehead. She closed her eyes slowly. "I'm fine, James, I'm really fine." 

And then she fainted.

"You're sure she's alright?" 

"Perfectly fine. Potter is in the waiting room now. Pomfrey won't let him in. He's been waiting there, repeating.. 'It's all my fault.. It's all my fault..' He's being too hard on himself."

"He looks fine, considering the circumstances.."

"Cathy! Don't you say a word to him about it!"

"He's hot, though. Too bad I've got manners and I won't demand he take me as his date to Godric's Hollow."

"But they haven't won yet! It's only Monday!"

"But you know they will!"

"I know, but how can you think about dating him.. After all he's been through!!"

"HE'S HOT, ROWENA! Stop being such a prude!"

James had his head in his hands. And, true to Rowena's observation, he was repeating over and over. "It's all my fault. It's all my fault.."

"That you literally drove me over the edge?" Came a soft voice. Lily was standing there, looking a bit pale, but fine.

"Yes, and I am sooo sorry, Lily." He said, standing up and touching her forearm. He bent his head in shame.

"You saved me, though? Isn't that worth enough?" Lily asked, ducking her head so her eyes met his.

"Do you think you can manage getting to the Common Room by yourself?" He asked, Lily thinking, just for a moment, that he had a bit of lust in his eyes.

"I'm quite al-" She began, but nearly collapsing, started again. "I wouldn't mind some transportation.

"Piggy back?" He asked playfully, smirking with satisfaction.

"Certainly." She said, getting on his back. "But you do remember which staircases move and which don't, right?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "Yeah, why?"

"Don't use them."

The entire Common Room had positioned themselves for the return. Everybody either stood or sat, facing the portrait hole. Boy, were they surprised to hear giggling and laughing and James coming in with Lily playfully hitched onto his back.

"Well, Princess, I didn't think your fans were that eager to see you!" James exclaimed as he let Lily down. "You'd think they were here to see, well, me!"

"Are you alright?" Rafe asked. He was in the center of all the seats, and the most solemn of them all.

"Perfectly fine. I couldn't walk back, but you can see I'm resourceful." Lily said, stepping out from behind James.

"The uniforms. We thought you should have the honor of passing them out." Rafe said, with a look of McGonagall's.

"Well, I'll need my trusty horse to help me, I'm still a little weak. So, Trojan, up for the task?" She asked, turning to James. 

"Most certainly, Princess Rica."

"Princess Rica?"

"As in Princess Godrica."

"Oh."

Lily and 'Trojan' opened the two boxes Lily had dropped to the ground. To each member of the team, she passed two uniforms and a varsity jacket, and to each reserve, she handed two uniforms and a varsity sweater. She and Remus wore two thick chenille sweaters of scarlet with a huge, golden, felt lion on the front. Dumbledore and McGonagall were to receive two of the same. There were also mittens and scarves that she and Remus pocketed, and the rest Lily sold. She found a cloth cream-colored hairband at the bottom of the box and pocketed it. By the end of the night, everybody in the room had a new piece of clothing to sport at the Quidditch match on Saturday.

The Hufflepuffs were amazed. While their House may have been wearing Hufflepuff colors, Gryffindor House was wearing Gryffindor merchandise. And (by a clever peeking into the locker room) there were also varsity jackets and sweaters. Amos Diggory was surprised they didn't have cheerleaders, a band and a mascot. Though he wasn't suggesting the idea. Knowing Lily Evans, she could probably have it done in a week.

Speaking of Lily, she could be seen in the top box, wearing a cream-colored hairband, a scarlet sweater with the Gryffindor logo, a golden scarf, warm scarlet mittens and a thick pair of jeans. And if one had a keen eye, they could also see she wore shiny boots.

Remus Lupin, the commentator, was less out there, but he wore a matching sweater, scarf and mittens, also jeans, and a big goofy grin. The entire top box was supporting Gryffindor. There were pennants and posters, the whole nine yards. 

"WE WON!! WE WON!!!" Lily shrieked. She was so loud that the mic picked her up and sent that happy cry throughout the stadium. James smirked happily. It was good to see she wasn't always composed, even though he knew he could rattle her cage easily.

When the team went up to the top box to be publicly awarded the trip to Godric's Hollow, James could see that Lily had removed her sweater ("Drops of frantic sweat kept forming!") and was wearing far too little- A white tank top. But, seeing as she refused to put the sweater back on, he wrapped his varsity jacket around her shoulders. She seemed speechless about the gesture, and that's how he wanted her for that moment. Speechless.

"You never would have guessed the same pale girl falling off the staircase yesterday is the very same shrieking cheerleader standing by me today. I proudly award the Gryffindor team, the commentator and their dates a cultural trip to Godric's Hollow next week." Dumbledore boomed proudly. Through Amos's keen eyes, he could see Lily's eyes light up with an idea. 

"Well, there goes the hope that we will EVER have a normal Quidditch game again." He groaned. 


	9. The Opera

"We should tell the girls

"We should tell the girls." Rafe decided finally. "There are an odd number of girls and an odd number of boys. James will have a room to himself, so we can plan all the better, and Lily must have a room to herself so that special modifications can be done."

Munguldus and Ronan nodded, and Remus and Sirius grinned. 

"I hereby call an emergency meeting of the Quidditch team and their dates." Rafe announced. The entire train compartment looked up. James and Lily were getting up with the rest.

"Not you two. You two are used to high society. We are not. We need to go over etiquette." Rafe added quickly. James shrugged, and Lily went back to her book.

"So, what are you wearing tonight?" James asked casually, trying to make conversation. 

"What, to the opera?" Lily asked. "Why?"

"Just want to scope out what would compliment whatever you're wearing." He said in defense.

"Shall I read the description on the dress box?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Since when does James Potter care what anyone is wearing?

"Green would be out of the question tonight. I have three shades of green for the balls." She chattered. 

_And I'm sure you've got coordinating accessories to each dress._ James thought.

"This stunning gown possesses an inheritance of poise. Precise hourglass tailoring on the fitted bodice flow into voluminous lengths of iridescent taffeta in several hues of bright yellow. Sixty inches to the hem. I have a black opera coat to put over it." She said, looking up from the dress box she had fetched. "Though I have no idea what to wear with that. Accessories, I mean."

"Wow, Princess Lily doesn't know what to wear with a dress!" James exclaimed with an air of playful sarcasm.

"It's not like you gave me much time to think! A week to find five formal gowns! That nobody else is wearing! That gives me a whole lot of time!" She said with fake disgust.

"I'll find you something." James said, picking up the book Lily was reading and avoiding her eyes.

"And how on earth do you plan on doing that?" Lily asked with raised eyebrows. She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a questioning look.

"You can borrow a dress of my cousin's. She's about your size. She lives in Godric's Hollow with my mum." James said, opening Lily's book and reading it.

"And do you really think I could find something I liked? I can't say I like my dress, or, I should say, the color of my dress." Lily asked. James kept reading her book.

"Oh, you will." He said, trying to hold back a chuckle. He failed.

"So my dress is going to revolve entirely around the accessory?" Lily asked. Now she realized how annoying it was to have somebody reading and avoiding your eyes.

"Certainly. It's not too much, or else the dress would look plain. Lord forbid that! But I'm sure you'll like the accessory. It's not yours to keep, mind." James said, closing her book and handing it to her.

"Rather boring book, I might add." He said. She was ready to slap him about playfully when the Quidditch team filed in. Unbeknownst to Lily and James, they were about to become the victims of a fantastic plan.

"Ohmigoodness, Tara! This dress is wonderful!" Lily exclaimed. It was almost **exactly** like the one Lily had planned to wear, except this one was a mix of brilliant blue and midnight blue, it was shiny, and it had a matching wrap. 

The yellow dress lay on Tara's magnificent four-poster. Tara would definitely look better in it. Her hair was dark like James's, but hers was, well, let's just say she definitely knew what a brush was.

Tara smiled. Never once had her cousin brought home such a great girl. She was so charismatic, energetic- Jubilant. "I've got matching high heels. But under that skirt, no one will notice them. You're so tiny, Lily."

"I like being petite." Lily huffed with artificial distaste. "My size is like a pixie's!"

Tara laughed. She was going to like this girl. "Jimmy-boy will send over the jewelry, I'm presuming."

Lily laughed. "Jimmy-boy!?! Yes, I think so. Are you going tonight?"

Tara looked taken aback. "No, but the Minister's son is my escort to the balls."

"Too bad. I would have loved to hear you taunt James at the opera."

Tara laughed again. Definitely Potter material.

Lily had everything. Her powder papers were tucked in the white silk evening bag she had with the ornate gold closures, and her purse mirror. She was just waiting in front of her floor-length mirror for the jewelry to arrive.

She was surveying her pale-blue French manicure when a knock at the door suddenly put her back into her senses.

"Come in." She said absentmindedly, hoping the glossy scarlet stuff on her lips wasn't too much.

She didn't turn to see who it was, but the voice was distinctively James's. "Close your eyes." He murmured.

The next thing Lily knew was that James stood behind her and was slipping a piece of jewelry around her neck. She involuntarily flinched. Normally jewelry was cold on her bare neck. But this was surprisingly warm.

"You can open them now." He said.

Lily gasped. It was a ruby-drop choker, that had a diamond dropping from the center ruby. It was perfect for the dress. He was right. Her hair was in a simple up-do (think Aubrey Hepburn with auburn hair, Breakfast at Tiffany's, no tiara).

"I knew you would like it." He said. Lily didn't see the sort of tender affection in his eyes, she was still staring at the necklace. Her diamond studs were nothing compared to this. Thank goodness they were simple, the choker and the dress took over her.

"You've always looked elegant, but now you look regal." He whispered in her ear. He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Be down at seven."

Lily finally recovered herself. "What, you're not going to escort me down the stairs?" She joked.

"That, Princess, is for the Ministry of Magic balls." He said with a teasing look in his eyes. "You look great. With or without the necklace."

"Thanks." She murmured as he left her room, closing the door softly behind him."

The opera was rather funny. It was Cinderella, but with extra narration. Like with the overly grand bibbity bobbity boo, the narrator added "Imagine if we did Transfiguration like that! Minerva McGonagall would give me a detention!"

Lily laughed and took a peek at James, who had been staring at her laugh. She turned her eyes back to the stage, though she knew she couldn't see it that well without her opera glasses.

Lily and James were sitting in the two seats at the very front of the opera box. James was high society, and this was Dumbledore's way of recognizing the new royalty at Hogwarts. Lily knew that the dim little lights in the opera box picked up on the necklace and gave a reddish, white glow on those on stage. Even the narrator commented on that, in a very grand, soprano voice. "It seems as if evil has risen, die! Die! Let thou takest the red glow with the death!"

Lily laughed again.

James was wearing a sleek midnight blue tux with his own alterations. The jacket with its three cobalt buttons was buttoned up, and there was a filmy white ascot tucked into the collar of his shirt. His pants were finely tailored and his shoes well-polished. He had seemed to control his messy hair finally, and Lily smiled at this. He handed her into their carriage and had Remus, Sirius, Missy and Jenny smirking in an I-told-you-so kind of way. They were to have a late supper at the fine restaurant of their choice, Dumbledore and James were such prestigious figures that they had everything on the house.

"We are not eating Italian!" Lily insisted with a playful squeak. "This dress is on loan!"

"Well," James joked, "Can you think of anything else?"

Sirius groaned. "You shouldn't have said that, James."

The girls (all six of them) came down into the hotel lobby in their pajamas or athletic gear. Lily led them down and they found comfortable positions on the big armchairs waiting for the boys to come down. They ordered huge mugs of hot chocolate, turkey and cheese sandwiches and lots of mayonnaise, and they just sat there, sipping hot chocolate until the boys came down.

James got the gel out of his hair and it was messy once again. He took off his glasses- He didn't really need them, except for reading (and in tonight's case, struggling to watch the opera). He couldn't see what was so bad about letting Lily choose what they were doing tonight.

He switched from the silk tux into his plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a short-sleeved white shirt. His hair was messy again, but with the three hours of struggle James put up with it, it was actually kind of cute.

He sort of hopped down the stairs, so boys following in suit, but he stopped their chatter and their noise. "Remus, your camera."

Remus handed James the camera he always had with him. The girls were without makeup, simply in their grungiest clothes, flopped in different positions on huge armchairs, sipping hot chocolate. Their hair, though still looking good, was very messy.

There was a sudden flash. James, glasses-less, brought the camera down slowly with a slow grin. Lily got up with fake anger and rushed up to him. He caught her and began spinning her around.

"You thought you were quick enough for James Potter?" He asked as she was shrieking happily for him to put her down. He eventually got her flipped over his shoulder, her butt in line with his ear. He held her by the back of her knees, as she pounded lightly on his back with her tiny fists.

"So, what are we doing tonight, Princess?" He asked as he set her down on the armrest of the chair he sat down in.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" She pouted, noticing each chair was taken and ignoring his question. 

"A lap is always nice." He said. She snorted.

"How do I know whether it is classy enough?" She asked with fake snobbiness.

"How do you know whether I'll make copies of that picture?" He asked with a really fake solemn look on his face.

"Fine, fine." She pretended to pout. "Bony, rather bony."

"Hey, like you'd be much better!" He really did pout. Sirius stared at them.

"What did they put in that hot chocolate?" Sirius whispered to Remus. Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"Let me ask again. What are we doing tonight, Princess?" James said as he wrapped his arms around Lily's waist. She squirmed perkily.

"Well," She began, turning her head to face James. "I was thinking someone could teach me to waltz."

James froze. Sirius nudged the guys to point it out, mouthing "I told you so."

"James?"

"Princess?"

"Will you?"

"First we show them how _not_ to waltz."

"Fine."

James forced his cheek against Lily's, making her mouth looking like a rubber band, dirty on the floor. The group laughed. He also took her into a bear hug so tight they exploded snorting and laughing. James managed to say, "I've seen it happen."

And then James looked at the floor and Lily looked at the ceiling. Their eyes, that is. It was rather funny to see rubber-band mouth girl still squeezed cheek-to-cheek with open-mouthed drooling boy, and they were looking opposite directions, Lily's arms limply by her side and James's so tightly around her he looked like he was suffocating her.

The clerk chuckled. He put on a record- Minuet In G Minor. It was rather amusing, because now James was instructing the proper way to ask for a dance with just body language. They began to waltz in a small circle. They were enclosed by the fireplace, the two couches, and a rather large coffee table. They danced on the rug, looking very elegant, even though they were in pajamas. To make it funnier, Lily's left pant leg was rolled up to her knee when the other was down. Everybody was laughing.

"Lily put that down." James ordered. "Last time it would have been funny. Now you are in a ball gown, waiting for your favorite song to come on."

Sirius winced, hoping she wouldn't bite his head off.

Instead she obeyed meekly. They were quite a good dancing pair. She loved this rush.

One by one, the couples began dancing in the tiny space. But Lily and James were always center. The Gryffindor Quidditch team slowly began to file out. Arabella whispered- "We'll be waiting in your room."

"I guess we should stop."

"I guess we should."

"Stop moving your feet, Lily."

"Right."

"Do you need me to walk you up to your room?"

"I'm not falling off a staircase again, Jimmy-boy."

"Oh, I am going to kill Tara!"

"Whatever you say, Jimmy-boy."

"So, did he kiss you?" Arabella said after Lily flopped herself down onto her bed. Helen sat on the huge chair by the window, Missy and Jenny were playing Gobstones on the foot rug. Jackie was tossing a little ball up in the air, and Arabella was sitting on Lily's trunk.

"Ew, gross! Potter? Kissing me?" Lily said, this time truly appalled. _Or am I? Evans! You've got a mission!_

"Well, did he?" Jackie persisted, taking up the way James cocked up his left eyebrow.

"Oh, stop it, Jackie.. No, he didn't and he won't." Lily said firmly. Missy giggled.

"You do realize the way he was looking at you when.." She began, but Helen piped up.

"At the opera."

"In the carriage."

"On the train."

"Downstairs."

"When he came back from your room."

"When you came back from the Potter mansion."

"When he carried you down that staircase."

"When you came into the Common Room on Monday."

"Up in the top box."

"Enough, enough!!" She demanded. They were getting annoying.

"Not like she would ever have him." Arabella said.

"Why?" Jenny inquired.

"Yeah, why not?" Helen said, getting down from her chair.

"Lily, is it alright if I tell them?" Jackie asked meekly.

"Just do it in someone else's room. I can't stand going over that again." She said quietly. "Plus, I have to decide on what dress to wear tomorrow."

The girls slowly filed out of the room. They had heard part of the story from ranting Rafe (as Missy called him) and didn't understand a word ("Of Ranting Rafe." "Shut up, Missy." "Just because you're his date, Helen..").

"You'd be proud of me, Claire." Lily murmured to herself as she put the dress away. "I snagged a rich one." She still had her make-up on for the night, and she cried herself silently to sleep. The mascara ran and the blush was stained, but in this state, Lily had never been more beautiful. Revelation is a slap in the face, but emerging was a new and better Lily. One that didn't want to complete her mission to break James Potter's heart. One that wanted to forget, just for a moment, that she was practically royalty. One that just seemed to want to be normal.

A/N: I was weirding out with some of the reviews, asking if I would complete this! I meant I wouldn't finish the book, The Gilded Lily. I will certainly finish this series to the highest extent that I can.


	10. Of Failed Attempts of Romance and Evil P...

Lily looked at the mirror straight in front of her

Lily looked at the mirror straight in front of her. She removed the pale-blue French nails and put on the white ones. The room echoed slowly with the extremely-old jewelry box that had been opened to let Lily's diamonds rest from their tired owner's ears.

Lily moved very slowly, as if she had no choice. The music pumped out slowly, too. By the time Lily was completely finished, it was nine in the morning. She would have been in Transfiguration by now.

_With some idiot staring at the back of your head._

Lily laughed lightly in spite of herself. She didn't like to ridicule her suitors straight to their faces, but (if they were not Gryffindors), she would laugh at the "dramatic" reenactments that Sirius and Remus performed. They did a very good impression of Fatmir Massimo's attempt to climb up to the girls' dormitory window, to sing Lily a love song when he ended up at Minerva McGonagall's window and with three-hundred points from Slytherin. (And unbeknownst to anyone else, a fit of shrill laughter from the professor herself.)

Today Lily had selected a red leather mini-skirt that looked like plastic. And, to add to that, bright yellow tights and chunky black shoes. _You might as well enjoy your youth while you can. Claire is lining marriages up for you as you think._ And, a bright green leather vest that also looked like plastic, with a glossy white silk blouse underneath, that she had expertly trimmed the collar off. Where the collar had been, bright, thick strands of yarn had been sewn that looked like the stitches on a baseball. The ends of the sleeves went just past her wrist. She braided her thick hair into two thick plaits on either side of her head.

"Tsk, tsk. From elegance of Vogue to a David Cassidy fan." James muttered as she skipped down to breakfast.

"David Cassidy fan?" Lily asked, appalled.

"That's what you look like."

"I was going to wear completely white, but its after Labor Day." Lily said off-handly. "Pass the syrup."

"Who made up that rule anyway?" James said through his pancakes.

"Oh, Mrs. Butterworth Alert!" Lily shouted as she ducked, avoiding bits of pancake.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically. One piece hit her in her eye.

"Oh, that is the final straw. I finally decide what eye-makeup to try and you go and get Bisquick on me!" She pouted. She threw the powdered-sugar shaker at him. He ducked, but got some in his hair.

He threw the French toast. "Perfect accessories to your French nails." He laughed.

She ended up getting the orange juice on his pants in a certain, er, embarrassing spot.

She got up to wash her hands when he flicked some cereal and milk from his spoon onto the back of her skirt.

"That is it, Potter!" She shrieked with glee. She picked up some scrambled eggs off of the next person's table ("Thanks.") and stuffed it down the back of James's shirt.

It was rather funny to see a fifteen year old boy dance around like he had ice cream down his shirt (worse, it was scrambled eggs and you know what grease stains do to your dark clothing). She laughed and he threw his bacon at her hair. She, in return, put sausage in the shoe that had come off when he was shaking the eggs down his pant leg. _Let him find that later._

She was one up on him, and threw an English muffin at the back of his head. He stuffed a buttermilk biscuit down her shirt. She threw a piece of a Belgian waffle on his shoes.

The rest of the Quidditch team was not exactly morning people. When they finally dragged themselves into the breakfast room (looking like drowned cats, in Lily's opinion), Rafe had to rub his eyes twice.

The dignified, the regal Lily Evans had a buttermilk biscuit emerging from her vest, a piece of syrupy pancake in her hair along with a smidgen of bacon, a Frosted Flake leaving a milky trail on the back of her skirt and French toast on her shoes. And she was shrieking with laughter.

The noble, the rich James Potter had a "stain" on a certain spot on his pants, a grease trail on the back of his shirt, a sausage hanging out of his left shoe (the right one had a piece of a waffle on it), muffin crumbs in his hair, along with powdered sugar. And he was chasing after a happily-shrieking Lily. They hadn't yet spotted their fellow Hogwarts students standing in the doorway with their jaws dropping to the floor.

Lily stopped. James caught her. He looked up from the floor, slowly, to find a very large group of familiar people staring openly in shock at him. Lily stood straight as if in the military, absentmindedly scraping the cereal off her skirt. James shook his shoe to get rid of the waffle. They tried (and failed) to regain a scrap of their dignity.

"I guess we should go change." Lily said, as Rafe just stood there, speechless. "Yes, Father Rafe. Three Hail-Marys and lentils for mid-meal will be good. I will see Brother Papito about my further punishments."

James stifled a laugh. He followed Lily as she trotted up the stairs to her room.

Rafe was still standing there, looking in wonder at the cereal flake on the hardwood, the piece of waffle on the Persian rug. He didn't want to think of how bad this would have been at the Ministry ball.

"Psst, Helen.. It's your boyfriend, Ranting Rafe." Missy giggled. Helen smacked her with her square handbag. It hit Missy square on Helen's target, Missy's stomach. Missy groaned.

James easily changed into dark gray slacks and a dark blue shirt. He sat on Lily's bed, winding up the little jewelry box. She was whipping into some new designer outfit she picked up on a splurge. 

"Princess? Do you mind hurrying up?" He called. His voice was strong, because even though his back faced Lily's bathroom door, and the door was thick, Lily still heard him.

"What's with the Princess thing?" She asked, her voice equally loud.

"Remember the day I came here?" He asked.

"The twenty-first of September." She murmured to herself. "How can I forget?"

"Sirius introduced you as the Queen of Hogwarts, Princess of Gryffindor, Owner of the Stage, Sparkle of the Kingdom, the Most Elegant, Charming, Intelligent-" He began, but she laughed.

"Good thing you're not in here, I haven't blushed so much since.. Well, in a long time."

"And remember last week? I asked you whether you knew you passed off as arrogant, a little princess even?" He asked. She certainly remembered, and then a thought flashed in her mind- What was she doing here? What was he doing, in her room, on her bed?

"I decided from then that you were regal, what Latin calls _pulchra Regina_. The pretty queen." He said decidedly. She was still wondering why she wasn't hating him at this very moment.

"Though right now you are only princess of Gryffindor- Until the last Potter female dies, there is no queen of Gryffindor. Meaning, until somebody marries me, there is no Queen. I think it's quite sad not to have a queen for something so powerful in good vibes, don't you?" He asked.

She opened the door. She had side-lace black leather bellbottoms on, with a tight, cap-sleeve silver shirt that cut itself off at the midriff. She wore a few bangles and her hair was loose and wavy. Her feet had these black platforms strapped tightly to them with sparkly silk.

"You seriously think you're going out like that, in November?" James said, raising his eyebrows as he stood, looking her over.

"You sound like my grandmother." She muttered.

"I was shooting for your mom." He said, as he slipped an arm around her bare stomach.

"My mom's dead," She said silently.

He paused. "Not Volde-"

She laughed uncomfortably and shook her head. "No, not him. Car crash."

"Then your dad?" He said, smiling weakly, hoping that he hadn't hit a soft spot. _Potter, what are you thinking? You like hitting soft spots! All the more irritating to bring up!_

__"No, he's not around. Unfortunately, his stupid new wife is." She said as they began to walk out her door.

"Then I sounded like your stepmother?" He asked hopefully. She laughed again. He loved making her laugh. _No, you don't. You like making her irritated._

"No, she probably would be the one wearing something like this in her size. The fat, blonde cow doesn't realize her obviously fake tan and her tiny skirts aren't enough anymore. I can tell you, this time next year I've got a new stepmother. She lasted almost as long as my mom."

"Sorry." James muttered after an odd silence.

"It's not your fault. Society. That's why I was extremely eager to go here." Lily chirped, but it was obvious to James that she was not too happy on the subject.

"But last night you seemed so content being a society girl." James protested, not trying to get flustered. Boy, did this girl have issues.

"A magical society girl. It's no fun elsewhere. Less options to ruin Claire's social events." Lily said with an evil grin. "She no longer holds dinners in the same house as I am and she makes the butler search my bags."

"No wonder Sirius and Remus like you so much!" James exclaimed, secretly happy that he got her off the subject of her family.

"Are you kidding me!? See, Claire tricked this guy into marrying my sister Petunia without her dowry! And at their wedding (at one of our smaller estates so he wouldn't ask), I pulled off Filibuster Fireworks in Petunia's bouquet and Dungbombs in the cake! Claire was ranting for a week!" She said happily. "And then don't even remind me of the garden party! That was the most fun of them all!"

"I'm sure they're waiting. We've got shopping to do. How much did you bring?" James asked, not really caring. He supposed that she had everything she could want from Hogsmeade.

"Three hundred Galleons." She said without a care.

"WHAT?!" He nearly shouted. They were making their way down the stairs and people started to look at them.

"Hello?!?! Godric's Hollow has _way_ more stuff that would annoy Claire but look normal. And plus, I want stuff from the Quidditch match, I had to pay for opera glasses- I want to sneak out and have fun, and plus, this place is historical. They invented the Golden Snitch just three doors down." Lily said a-matter-a-factly. 

"Oh, darling Miss Debutante, tell me more." James teased in a stuffy, nasal voice.

Lily smacked him lightly. He grabbed her hands and pulled her closer. His heart was beating almost as fast as Lily's was.

"Hey, Lily! You got some 'splainin' to do!!!" Sirius called from the breakfast room, in a very bad Desi Arnez voice.

"Comin' Desi!" She called back playfully, withdrawing her hands from James's now loosened grasp. She skipped down the stairs, not looking back once.


	11. The Golden Lion

"Damn that Sirius

"Damn that Sirius." James muttered as he hopped down the stairs after Lily. "First he encourages me to like her then he discourages my chances. Figures."

Rafe was still standing there with his jaw dropping to the floor. Helen had stuffed a bit of toast in that mouth (and Sirius and Remus added a bit of pepper and some gross vegetable on the next table). Lily had ducked her head to avoid stares. Hopefully no one remembered her like she was an hour ago. Covered in breakfast foods.

"So, what was that all about?" Sirius asked as soon as Lily had hidden herself properly.

"We were having a decent conversation, then James started talking with his mouth full and got a piece of pancake in my eye." She said with a muffled voice. She was hiding under the table.

"So that ended up with cereal and milk on your butt, toast on your shoes, bacon and pancakes in your hair and a biscuit coming out of your vest, right?" Remus asked with curiosity, buttering his own biscuit.

"Yeah, so?" She asked, her voice still muffled. Because of the horrible view, she didn't see James walk up.

"Where's Lily?" He mouthed. Remus pointed silently at the table.

"And the best part about it is I got the scrambled eggs down his-" She began, but soon the space got cramped.

"Shirt." James said, his voice also muffled as he sat in an uncomfortable position under the table. "That's the most fun I've had at a meal in a long time."

"I didn't tell you about my stepmother's garden party, did I? Well, the little petit fours had Pepper Imps in them, the stirrers were the blood-flavored lollipops, the ice cream hadIce Mice in it and candies were peppermint cream toads, except the cook helped me mold them like real peppermint creams. The bonbons exploded miraculously and you could hear Claire screaming my name for miles, you can ask the villagers! And then when we went on a trip to Paris, I exchanged her airline peanuts with Cockroach Clusters!" She whispered excitedly. On the table above her, everyone pushed their plates in front of them. It may have been funny, but to think of it while eating.. All except Sirius, of course, who was just engrossed in his pancakes.

"And then of course, there is the exploding bouquets that were set around the table, they had Dungbombs in them, and the teacups were Nose-Biting Teacups, but even if you got beyond that, the tea tasted like blood, and then the grand castle cake that the cook spent hours on (I didn't ruin this, otherwise the cook wouldn't have helped me with the peppermint creams) I added little fireworks on top. Claire was pleased with that, but she had a teacup on her nose and dung all over her and a hopping stomach (I heard her describe it to her PA), she desperately needed breath mints and a fire extinguisher and she had sticky bonbons stuck to her blouse. It was fantastic!" Lily exclaimed. "One of her heels broke so as she tried to approach me, she was slowed down and my father came home so she didn't mess with me. And then I was off to Hogwarts anyway and wouldn't return until next holiday."

James and Sirius seemed to be the only ones listening. Everyone else had lost their patience and their appetites.

"Fantastic as that may be, Miss Evans, we have a bit of shopping to do." Came Dumbledore's amused voice. James was the first to get out from the table. He offered his hand and Lily emerged. Her hair was kind of messy when she got up. James smoothed it with his hands, savoring the moments when he could touch her.

Lily shivered. James was right, she was cold. Before she knew it, James's varsity jacket was hanging onto her by her shoulders. They stopped at a prank shop first, letting Sirius give them the grand tour. Lily must have dropped fifty Galleons on the place. She even amazed Sirius, who was all too willing to test out the products for her.

Next they stopped at a robe shop. Not that they would need the dress robes until December for the Yule Ball, but they stopped anyway. Lily picked some dragon-fly combs for her hair for that evening and she bought each of the girls something they liked, though they were simply trinkets of some kind.

At the Quidditch shop, she bought personalized equipment for each member of the team. James, Jackie, Arabella and Munguldus each received a Quaffle, Ronan got a Golden Snitch and a little but secure box to keep it in, and Rafe and Sirius each got a bat and a Bludger, along with a Bludger cage. They thanked her with true exuberance. 

And at the Gryffindor shop it was James's turn to give them a tour and spoil them. Each Quidditch team member (and Remus) received a poster with a growling lion. Everybody bought things to give to their families and friends for Christmas. They even got something for Peter (it was a figure of a lion eating a small white rat. Lily couldn't understand it, but Sirius said it was because the little rat literally ratted on them). 

Lily was amazed at some of the things in the back of the shop. It had a lot of Hogwarts stuff. There was this tapestry that read the family of Salazaar Slytherin, a rug that did the same for Rowena Ravenclaw, a tablecloth reading the family history of Helga Hufflepuff. Lily gasped to herself. There was a banner, a very large banner, scarlet, with a golden lion that roared, it read _Gryffindor and Potters- United Forever_.

"Interested in that, missy?" The creepy shop clerk asked.

Lily turned and nodded, gulping with fear. 

"It was basically the announcement for the grand wedding of Lady Lillian and Godric Gryffindor. Heard of them?" He asked, pointing a rather crooked finger at her. Lily nodded silently. "Rather sad story. Lady Lillian was originally set to marry Sir Gryffindor when all of a sudden, Lord Slytherin took over the province Godric ruled. Lady Lillian fought and fought, but in the end- Lady Lillian.."

"Lily?" Came James's voice. He had found her. "We have to go."

"Couldn't we stay just a little while?" Lily pleaded, but James shook his head. "We can come back later."

"Yes, James." She whispered as he led her by the arm out of the shop.

"Lily.. Lily?" James asked as he handed her into the carriage. They were going off to some historical site. "What was the shopkeeper telling you?"

"Nothing, James. Just the story of Lady Lillian. He didn't finish it." She said after a moment.

"Here." He said, thrusting a package into her hands.

She unwrapped the brown paper carefully. Then, a figure, about eight inches tall, a lion with every detail, down to the hairs of the fur to the soft, scarlet velvet feet, stood on her palm. It was golden, and standing upwards, roaring. Its eyes glistened of rubies and its tongue was a ruby 

"James.." She murmured. "James.. I co- I co- I couldn't accept this."

"Yes you can. It's mine to give." He said, fingering the lion's tail. "Look at this. You wouldn't believe what this was."

"What?" She whispered, her finger following his.

"This was the plaything of Godric's first son. Godric was helping building Hogwarts and he sent that to his son to remind him to keep courage and protect the home, and his sisters. I thought you'd like it."

"I do. I do." She said excitedly. "Thank you so much." She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

His finger felt the side of her cheek. "You're welcome, Princess." He murmured. "You're always welcome, Princess."

Lily got up to return to her seat. "No, stay." He murmured, running his hands over her hair. "Stay."


	12. The Perfect Princess

Lily ran her hands over the skirt

Lily ran her hands over the skirt. It was mint green, waltz-length, and it was like a little bell. It was made of soft, soft silk. She slipped on a pair of white dancing slippers, knowing no one would see them. The wrap was less soft, but gauzy. It was several layers of mint green chiffon, sewn together with ruffled edges.

For the finishing touch, she had a mint green halter of the same material of her skirt, and on the left side of the bodice was a trail of ivy with little lavender flowers and leaves. She had the top part of her curls tucked away with the dragonfly combs.

The soft, enchanting music of the jewelry box filled the room as Lily put on the diamond studs she wore the previous night, and took a thin chain of silver with an amethyst-glass leaf pendant and fastened it around her neck.

Pretty. Beautiful. Elegant. Charming. Graceful. Regal. Intelligent. The words had filled Lily's head for the past two years. They meant nothing. Her soul had never felt pretty. Confident, maybe, but not pretty. Intelligence was just so she could gain respect among the suitors who only wanted her for her money and the fact that she wasn't half-decent to look at.

There was a tiny oval purse made of the same material as her dress that she picked up off her dressing table. Ready to face the music.

She stood up from her spot and slowly walked to the floor-length mirror. She bowed her head, practiced a curtsy, and when she finally looked up, she could have cried.

_I never should have come here. I am actually enjoying this. Going to balls and theatres and operas. I don't want to become Claire's stepdaughter, sold like a cow at an auction. I don't want to even befriend Potter. What am I doing here? I shouldn't look like this- Like I belong._

She would have cried, but she knew better to cry before she was expecting a visitor. The ball was just downstairs and she was not holding up her already fashionably-late entrance by removing and reapplying make-up. Her eyes filled a bit, but she wiped that away.

_A lady never loses her composure._

Here she was, reciting the rules of finishing school. She laughed with a cold heart. _Like you have never lost your composure, Evans._

She walked over to her dressing table and spotted the lion. She was sitting down when a knock came at her door. "It's open."

She fingered the lion, and to her surprise, it roared. She shrieked quietly.

James's rumbling, friendly laugh made her look up. She forced a smile on her face, her society smile. But his laughter was a bit contagious. She decided at least to enjoy herself and have regrets later. _But you're not built for regrets. You're too perfect._

"That was the joy of the lion. It was made by Gryffindor himself, and he loved to surprise his son. You're not truly telling me you don't know the story of Lady Lillian, are you?" He asked as he offered his arm. 

Lily got up and closed her jewelry box, then placed her hand lightly on the arm she offered. "All I know is that she was a society girl like me forced to marry someone she didn't love because he had invaded her fiancée's territory."

James chuckled. "You got part of the story right."

They were silent as they headed for the stairs. There were so many open walkways towards the staircase that you could see everyone if you lurked through the dim-light.

"Now that I think about it, you don't pass off as a little princess, Princess. You _pass_ for the ideal perfection, but I can see now you're not. You're still a girl lost in the image of a young lady that every guy wants for his wife." James said off-handly. Lily was opening her mouth to protest when he pointed out a couple in the distance, one wearing yellow, the other a tux. The woman was maternal and rather old, and her companion rather young.

"That right there is Madame Effex. She can remember exactly how many pints her husband has drank and how much of her son's inheritance is being squandered on her husband's mistress and exactly how many times she has to pay off schools to keep her daughter in them, but she can never quite remember that _that_ man is not her husband. He's a gigolo." James whispered in her ear. Lily laughed, not too loudly because she was sure the Madame Effex would look up. 

"That right there is the Minister of France. I met him while I was touring Europe. He's a little on the tipsy side time to time, but as most French, he's quite a nice fellow to be around."

Lily felt odd. Out of everyone else, she was the only one with one-hundred percent Muggle upbringing and it felt kind of weird not to know who was who.

"That is the Longfellows. They are extremely popular in designing naughty dresses concealed under dress robes for certain bachelor parties." James whispered, laughing in her ear. She wanted him to continue, but someone was approaching them. He straightened up.

"Why, my dear James! How lovely to see you again, old chap! Why don't you introduce me to your lovely, er, companion." The rather tubby man said. He had a round belly and a chubby red nose and his hair wasn't on top, it more grew around. But he seemed rather jolly and Lily took an instant liking to him.

"My dear Minister Lionhart, this is Lily Evans, a Muggle heiress and fellow Gryffindor." He said, nodding his head a bit. The Minister moved on down the stairs, hopping in a rather funny fashion, for he had people to meet.

"Is that all you could think of?" She hissed playfully in his ear. He nodded and the two held their giggles.

"Ah, James! I see you've turned up with another one! Girlfriend, perhaps?" Asked a young Ministry official, redheaded and with a little boy in tow.

"No, no, Arthur, just an acquaintance. Your wife Molly used to school with her, several years older though." James said, nodding his head again.

"Will you stop that?! You remind me of my butler!" Lily asked.

"Well, Madame Evans, lovely to see you home finally." James said, sucking in his cheeks so he looked (and spoke) like a fish.

She giggled, but the usher at the front of the stairs asked their names.

"Announcing Madame Lily Isabelle Evans and her escort, Sir James Orion Potter-Gryffindor." Rang the voice of the usher. Lily tried to snatch a glance from James, but they had to walk down the stairs to be introduced to many people.

"Sir Gryffindor!" Called a rather beautiful young woman, eighteen or nineteen. She had a French accent and long blonde hair falling to her waist over her pale pink dress.

"Yes?" James asked as he and Lily turned to face the table the woman was sitting at.

"May I ask you the story of Lady Lillian?" She asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Alas, I have people to see. Perhaps you can catch up with us tomorrow. I believe we should be sightseeing, correct, Lily?" James asked. Lily nodded.

"Thank you." She said, returning to a notepad on her table. "The Muggle heiress Lily Evans was on the arm of Sir Gryffindor, said to be the richest magical person under eighteen in all the world. Sir Gryffindor politely obliged my request for the story of his great, great, great (and so on..)" She whispered excitedly to herself, but James led her away to introduce her to more people.

"Why was she so interested in Lady Lillian, James?" Lily asked, hoping to get the entire story this time.

"Never you mind, Princess." He said, pinching her cheek playfully. She batted him away with her hands, but straightened up when another person approached them.

"Sir Gryffindor?" Asked a voice behind him, very playfully. Lily and James turned to face Tara, whom Lily embraced.

"Your dress is upstairs, Tara." She said excitedly. 

"I heard nobody could take their eyes off of you." Tara said truly.She was wearing that yellow dress Lily was supposed to wear the previous night, and her dark, silky hair was swept upwards and kept up with rubies laced into them. On her arm was an enchanting young man that Lily assumed was Minister Lionhart's son.

"Well, I certainly couldn't." James murmured, but only Tara heard him.

"What do you think of announcing our identities to the world, James?" Tara asked with a sarcastic fear.

"Most everybody in here knows it anyway, Tara." He said, bored. "And Richard, how are you?" He said, turning to the dashing blonde in front of him.

"Just fine, James.." He began, but Tara knew better. 

"I will see you around, Sir Jimmy-boy. Have a wonderful time, Lily, and don't let my cousin stick to your side all night. He's quite a social hermit crab."

Lily laughed and James coughed, to make her stop laughing. She got her cue, but she didn't no why.

"There is a magical country called Gryf- Never mind. But the Queen, she's coming through. Straighten up and don't laugh. Don't speak unless spoken to." He hissed in her ear.

"I remember the society rules, remember?" She hissed back, but nonetheless straightened up.

The Queen was grand in Missy's words. She didn't remember what country, but only one country had a Queen that ruled a magical kingdom. That country was where many of the people too magical for their own good went, and where the factories for the magical supplies and such were made, to keep low profile. The Queen (A/N: Think Scarlet O'Hara's curtain dress, except scarlet and gold) wore a regal cape of red satin lined with speckled snow-leopard's fur. Her tiara was grand, ever so grand. Lily couldn't see closely, but it looked like a familiar feline, apparently the symbol of the royal family.

Lily stayed close to James's side, clutching his arm with this sort of mixed fear and excitement. The Queen was gaining ground, getting closer and closer to where Lily was standing. The Queen stopped right in front of Lily.

"Beautiful." The Queen murmured, with an odd, clickety-click accent. She stretched out her hand so that her fingers dangled and softly touched Lily's chin. She cupped Lily's chin, lifting her head to study her.

"You have chosen well, nephew." She said to James. "I hope to see this one again."

James sat stiffly through supper. They had a place facing the founder of Zonko's, the headmistress of the American magic school, and who sat next to them (on James's side) were Tara and Richard. On Lily's side (she nearly died) was the Queen herself. Lily had so many questions for James. _Who the hell is Sir Gryffindor? NEPHEW? Who is the Queen's nephew and why are you masquerading like him? Why didn't you tell me any of this!?!_

But then she realized,

**A.****She was not his girlfriend.**

**B.****She was not even his close friend.**

**C.****She didn't even know him that well.**

**D.****She didn't bother to ask.**

The Queen spent her dinner studying Lily out of the corner of her eye. Polite, pretty, poised. She knew her way around the millions of silverware, she seemed to be a good conversationalist (The Queen overheard a discussion of new Charms that the Headmistress of that American school seemed truly involved in), she was friendly.. And on top of all things, a good dresser.

"Tara, do tell me how the Jimmy-boy started." Lily teased. To those who weren't truly listening, her tone was polite, but the question was amusing. The Queen snorted into her blancmange.

"Well, James used to be fascinated with American Westerns. He tried to obtain a few, but he had to settle for this very horrible British Western. But he adored it. Jimmy-boy was the name of the main character, well, he was called that by his sister, his cousin and his mother. So Godric's Hollow got used to calling him Jimmy-boy. But once he got into Hogwarts, he could no longer be Jimmy-boy. But that's what he asked to be called, so I keep calling him that." Tara said, her ridicule of James hidden under the shallow mask of manners.

Lily did not giggle like she normally would have, but laughed politely, though the look she exchanged with Tara told James's cousin exactly how much Lily was dieing to laugh.

"Welcome one and all to the first of the three Annual Magical Embassy Balls! Among many in my presence, there is Queen Rica of Gryffindor, her nephew Sir Gryffindor, her niece Lady Gryffindor and many, many more. Please, do enjoy yourself as the night is just beginning." The Minister said. There was a loud jumble as the interpreters went to work, and Lily could laugh at last, her laughter concealed by the noise. After the jumble of the interpreters stopped, the orchestra went right to work.

James offered his hand to Lily as Vivaldi's _Spring_ began. She accepted gracefully and they were a few of the first to begin dancing. Finally Lily spotted a few of her school friends. Arabella was dancing in this lavender, silvery sheath, but she was losing her poise as Ronan began to step on her feet. Helen wore shocking red, which was good against her cinnamon-brown skin. Sirius was smirking at her in his navy silk tux, Remus smiling through dances with Jenny (dressed in shimmering bright blue). The dance was lively.

Lily knew it was best to leave a bit early, because she was feeling a bit faint. After seventeen more dances (two with the tipsy minister of France, one with the ever-eager Rupert Ravenclaw, and fourteen more with James) she motioned to James that she needed some air.

She stepped out of one of the floor-to-ceiling glass doors onto the hotel's terrace. There was a nice place to sit, on the bridge of Lillian's Pond. Behind the little bridge was a tall tree, so close you could stand on the bridge and lean on it.

She removed her dance slippers for fear of the oddly fresh grass staining them to match her dress, and she held them in her hands by their heels and hopped over to the bridge, unnoticed by anyone- Supposedly.

James was starting to go back upstairs when the daughter of some Headmaster asked him to dance. She was rather ditzy, but demanding. He let her lead him to the center of the ballroom and they whirled in circles. She was leading him rather than tradition letting him lead her, and as she spun him about, she caught flashes of red and mint green under the half-moon.

"Excuse me, Natasha." He said. "It's been lovely dancing with you, but I must attend to my date."

He ran across the terrace as the half-moon rose high in the sky. There was splashing. The bridge at Lillian's Pond had no rails. When he finally came to the bridge, he found a pair of white dancing slippers first, then Lily sitting on the bridge, her palms face down, her skirt lifted up, her hair coming out of place, and her feet splashing in the water.

"Oh, hi, James." She said, looking up. She had wrapped the gauzy shawl tightly around her shoulders, but she was still shivering.

"You'll catch cold." He said simply, but in a sort of demanding voice.

"No, I won't." She said matter-of-factly.

"And what makes you think so?" He asked, mocking her.

"Because you will tell me to gather my stuff and call me Princess and scoop me up like that day on the stairs, and sneak me upstairs. You will wait for me to change into warm pajamas and you'll get me hot chocolate and read me a story, sing me a lullaby and tuck me in, making sure I fall asleep." She said simply.

"I am?" He asked wearily.

"You are. Definitely."

"Fine. Gather your slippers milady. Princess. Fetch your handbag and let me carry you off into the- moonset. Yeah, the moonset." He said playfully. He scooped her up like she said he would, smiling all the while. "Are you sure I'm going to do this?"

"Yes." She said with a coy smile. "Now we get the hot chocolate."

"I thought you changed first."

"I changed my mind."

"Alright."

They snuck through the corridors, heading for the kitchen, where a hot mug would be sent up to Lily's room in moments. He took the back staircase (otherwise he would have had to go through the ballroom with Lily barefoot and disheveled) and set her down in the first chair he saw in the room. She got out that set of pajamas she had worn on his first night back at Hogwarts and sat up on her bed.

"Tell me a story, Jimmy-boy." She whispered as she drank hot chocolate.

"Once upon a time, there was a pretty little princess who snuck away from the ball she was supposed to be at, caught cold in the water of Lillian's Pond and died. The end." He said, leaning back into the grand velvet chair by the window.

"Not fair. That story was made-up." She pretended to pout. "What about my lullaby?" She asked as she finished off the hot chocolate.

"I'll wind up your jewelry box." He said. "It'll give you sweet dreams for sure."

He did as he said he would and lifted her lacy quilts to tuck her in. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, her makeup removed, a dreamy smile on her lips. He tucked her in and sat on the great chair by the window, watching her fall asleep. She did shortly, but so did he. He was sure somebody had spiked the punch, because she had never been more good-natured.****


	13. A Sirius and Remus Interlude

"Slowly

"Slowly. The girls will know where we've gone."

"Sirius, they already know about the plan."

"No, they think we're playing matchmaker. We're just trying to keep them from killing each other."

"Right. Whose room?"

"Certainly not James's. But we need to change his alarm clock so that he misses the morning announcements from Dumbledore."

"But who will change Lily's alarm clock, Sirius?"

"We'll get Arabella to do it. Girls always fall for romantical junk. Remus, you want to handle that?"

"Sure. No, wait. Ronan should."

"Oh yeah, we're meeting in Rafe and Munguldus's room."

"We might as well see what her room is like.. Let's change it ourselves."

Sirius and Remus tiptoed up the stairs to the attic room where Lily was staying. James told them it was charming and cozy- But a girly room.

They opened the door quietly and the room was so dark Sirius had to light his candle (Remus was holding his wand so that he wouldn't play any pranks). The alarm clock was set for six in the morning. ("Remus, how can she wake up so _early_?" "She's a girl, Sirius."). With a little tinkering, it was set for nine-thirty.

On their way out, they spotted somebody under the moonlight. "James." They whispered in unison. They stifled their laugh and headed downstairs to Rafe's room.

"So, Sirius and Remus.. Lily's alarm clock changed?"

"Sir, yes, sir." The two Marauders chorused.

"What about James's?"

"Handled." Munguldus said.

"What about Dumbledore?"

"I've faked two sick notes for them." Ronan said.

"Excellent. I have handled the girls." Rafe said proudly.

"In Sirius's words, they always fall for romantical junk." Remus said. The five boys chuckled quietly.

"James is up there now." Sirius said after a brief silence.

"Really?" Munguldus and Ronan chorused, emphasizing the y. Sirius nodded with a smirk, but Remus gagged.

"Not like _that_. Gross. Like they'd fall in love. I think Lily got drunk." Remus said

matter-of-factly. 

"You ruin all the fun, Remus." Sirius pouted.

"You keep your mind in the gutter." Remus pointed out.

"So, what exactly _is_ he doing in there?" Rafe asked, getting into the mood. 

Remus was not at all pleased.

"He's sleeping." Remus said, then realizing that they would jump to more 

conclusions. The other boys laughed.

"In the chair, you idiots." He began, but wanted to clear up something. 

"Clothed."

"Remus, you are **such** a spoil-sport." Ronan pouted.

"Let's just keep to the plan and remember that we might lose a Keeper if we

don't concentrate." He said. "Spoil-sport or not, we've got a job to do."


	14. Back Home Again

"What are you doing here

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked as soon as her eyes fluttered open. What was James Potter doing in her room at this early hour? Where was Jackie, why were her feet cold, why was the jewelry box open.. Oh, she had so many questions.

"Get out." She said before James had a chance to answer.

"What?" He asked. He had been watching her sleep. It was about eight and the alarm clock hadn't gone off yet. She had been so peaceful in her sleep. She had been.. What.. Too haughty? She had always acted like a princess in her own like- But last night..

"Get out." She demanded.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked. "Last night you were perfect.."

"What? Perfect? You mean your idea of perfect. I was perfect before you came back." She said coolly. "Get out."

"Princess.." He began, thinking that would calm her down.

"Don't call me princess." She snapped. "Get out, or I'll scream."

"What's that gonna do? No one will hear you." James reasoned, not cruelly, he was just defending himself.

If Sirius had been there, he would have said, "You're asking for it, James."

Lily screamed. Screamed with a capital S C R E A M E D. She screamed so loud that even the janitor, working in the basement seven floors below, heard her clearly.

"GET OUT!!!" She demanded. As James scrambled away Jackie rushed in. She had not paid any attention whatsoever to Lily for a day and a half, she had let Lily get hurt. She was letting Lily get hurt tonight- She had to stop the plan. 

"Lily.. Are you alright? What did he do?" Jackie asked, but Lily shook her head. Her migraine raged like it never had before.

She was not supposed to do this. She wanted to change. She didn't want to be the average girl who fell for James Potter. She didn't want to be the girl seeing someone. She wanted to forget good times with people she was attracted to so that she could be able to be the society girl she had to be.

"Jackie, you've got great taste. Pick something out.. Something, uh, conservative. Yeah, conservative." She ranted. Jackie looked at her mentor with wide eyes. What was wrong with her? She had been happy for a day and a half. She hadn't been herself- That was it. Lily hated being the typical girl.

She rushed into the bathroom as Jackie selected something for her. Thick white sweater set, pearly white buttons, with a dark gray skirt that went past her knees. That would be good. Black velvet heels? No, too raunchy.. Well, not really, but still- Too much. Black patent flats and ankle socks? Good. 

Lily rushed out, her dark pink lips glossed, her eyelids just a bit shiny and the mascara barely applied. Her hair was pulled away from her face in a very bouncy ponytail of curls, and she nodded approvingly at the outfit Jackie had laid out on the bed. She opened the jewelry box really quickly and found some very short chain and fastened it quickly. She also found a pair of pearl studs and clipped them on just as fast.

She studied herself in the mirror. Okay.. Boobs not too big, skirt medium-tight.. She fidgeted with the sweater a bit and had the top button buttoned, but after that, she was satisfied. "Perfect, thanks, Jackie."

She picked up her notebook and a fluffy pen and looked like something from the fifties. Jackie winced a bit, what was with Lily's change of heart?

But she followed Lily down the stairs anyway.

Breakfast was toast and cereal. They all sat at a huge table, Jackie on one side of Lily, Remus on the other. James sat across from Lily, Sirius facing Remus and Arabella facing Jackie.

Remus mouthed "What's wrong?" to Sirius while Lily avoided everyone's eyes and shoveled cereal into her mouth. Sirius shrugged while on the other side of the bickering lovebirds, Arabella was mouthing the same question to Jackie. Amazing how alike their reactions were.

Every now and then, James would look up from (in Sirius's words) "the ever so interesting cereal milk" and glance at Lily, but if anybody looked up, he would be studying the cereal bowl.

_Fine, if she wants to go back to normal, she can._

_Jerk. I'm going back to the plan. It's the boot for him._

James got his spoon filled with cereal and milk, he looked both ways, making sure no one was watching, and flicked the cereal at Lily, then paid attention to his cereal.

_Smack._ Jackie heard something. On the center of Lily's nose was dripping milk and three soggy cornflakes.

Everybody (except Dumbeldore, who seemed to be immune to trouble) looked up when Lily groaned with frustration.

Lily stood up with her orange juice glass reached it over the table, and dumped it on James's head.

_Splash._ Sirius looked up from his silent word war with Remus to see his friend covered head-to-shoulders in a icky, yellowy substance.

James picked up his bowl and turned it over Lily's head.

_SPLASH!!_ Remus noticed that Sirius had stopped with his good insults for Snape, and that there was a cornflake on his shoe. A soggy cornflake. And he looked up and saw a soggy Lily covered in milk and soggy cornflakes.

Lily was wiping herself off when a piece of toast came flying at her. 

"That is IT!" She bellowed, throwing down her napkin. "This is WAR, Potter." She stomped out of the room, ignoring James's satisfied smirk.

_Got her. Welcome home, James._

The look that the boys (except for James) exchanged clearly read, "What went wrong?"

Lily removed the icky mess from her hair with obvious distaste. It was clean in under a second, and she had a fresh sweater set (bright yellow cashmere) on in a second. But that wasn't what was bothering her.

_Lily, the longer you stay, the more you're going to ruin your chances. Plenty of people have made you mad before. You have to keep your cool. What about the first days he was back? Huh? It wasn't until you brought up the Embassy Ball that brought you into this mess. You are such an idiot. You've already made your revenge. Now just ignore him._

She was downstairs in no time, pleased to see James was wiping the orange juice out of his hair. She sat down at her newly cleaned seat as if nothing had happened.

_Look at his face! Welcome home, _Evans_._


	15. The Art of Seduction and Matchmaking

Lily stayed with Jackie and Arabella the entire day

Lily stayed with Jackie and Arabella the entire day. Time to time she would take pictures with Sirius and Remus, or anyone else who asked, or she would take her own pictures, but otherwise, she was with Jackie and Arabella. They stopped off at the Golden Snitch Museum, at The Four Founders Museums: Godric, and some other places that James couldn't remember because he was staring at the back of Lily's head, thinking.

_Okay, Potter. Now that you have regained your senses, you can go back to the plan. It's kind of her who wanted it, I mean, she threw the first stone, right? Right?_

He approached her at their café, just to tease her. Obviously she had other things on her mind. She knew he was behind her, but she didn't turn to face him.

"Five feet, Jimmy-boy, if you don't want the crap beaten out of you." She growled as she took a bite into some sandwich.

"Five feet three, five feet two, five feet one.. Five feet! Four foot nine and a half.." He said, thinking 'Hey, what can she do?'

_Slam!_ Wrong answer.

"Tell me how the concrete feels any second now, Jimmy-boy." She said merrily with a cold laugh, looking down at him innocently as if he was a piece of gum. "I do believe we are to see your beloved mother and your cousin Tara this evening."

She put a piece of gum and her mouth and started chewing, well, she was chewing in an odd way, but it was, well, slightly, uh, attractive. Yeah, that's it! She grabbed hold of one of her curls with her right index finger and started twirling it around her finger, causing James's mouth to water.

James had a thing about hair. Thick, fine, curly, wavy.. Never straight or in-between, unless someone could handle that. Someone like Lily. He could just kiss a girl if she played with her hair (and very few girls, unfortunately for them, didn't realize this. The Quidditch team, however, noticed. Lily had asked innocently about it before James was flat on his back).

He may have been lying on a piece of gum and a straw wrapper, but he was drooling. He had a very good view of her- DAMN!

Lily suddenly realized that the back of her chair (and her curls) were perfectly in James's view. She got up, bent over him, and she waggled her other index finger at him.

_No, no, Jimmy-boy.. That's a time-out. You've been bad... Not that **I **mind in the least._

She smiled coyly and hopped up to entertain Sirius.

James groaned. _What have I gotten myself into?_

As for Lily, she was enjoying a _very _nice lap- And Missy's unnecessary jealousy. All was explained that Sirius and Lily had sworn on the Marauder's Bible (a book of pranks and rules of the Marauders, for future reference) never to be truly attracted to each other, ever.. They both just overly enjoyed flirting.

"Yes, Lily, dahling- You look ravishing in that new shade... What was it called??" Sirius asked playfully. She shrugged.

"_Cornflake_." Remus said dryly, making Lily blush. She had never lost her temper _that_ badly before.

James was lying helplessly not twenty feet away, listening to them tease her. _If I teased her like that, I could find myself wrapped up like those pictures in Most Potent Potions_.

Tara sensed something wrong from the start. First of all, James was in the back, thinking (which was dangerous, in Tara's mind, I mean, James thinking and all..) and Lily was in the front, appearing like she was having a great time- Without James. However, she gave a great, detailed tour of the house, explaining it's finest artifacts and it's long history. Lily penned her notes, while James still stood in the back, thinking.

_Plotting is more like it_. Tara thought, but she could speak to Lily or her cousin later.

Meanwhile, Sirius, Remus, Rafe, Munguldus and Ronan were doing plotting of their own. Well, Remus, Rafe, Ronan and Munguldus were plotting. Sirius was doing a play-by-play on how Lily lost her temper at the breakfast table and punched James out.. 

"I am completely riding on the fact that it's just PMS." Sirius said. Remus hushed him.

"What? You guys don't understand that I have seven sisters. SEVEN. And I'm the youngest of the family. And unlike most females living together, my sisters aren't all, you know, _in sync_." Sirius said, shuddering.

"We'll talk about the feminine problems of your family later. We have to change the itinerary for tonight. It _has_ to be romantic, or they'll end up killing each other." Rafe said. Everyone but Sirius (the femininity expert) agreed.

"No, it has to be like the night they spent. Making it seem like they're sneaking away from society, doing everything they did, that'll be romantic reminiscent enough, trust me." Sirius said, emphasizing the word trust.

Rafe gave Remus a questioning look.

"Oddly enough, Sirius is right about these things." Remus said, shaking his head sadly. "Why couldn't that gift be blessed to someone useful?"

Sirius didn't catch the joke until later, when he was trotting behind Remus, demanding "How am I not useful? I'm useful! How am I NOT useful? Huh?!"

Tara shook her head. Something at that ball had to be poisoned, because everybody was acting odd.

"Let me tell you, Mister Sirius-Is-Not-Useful! EIGHT FEMALES. ALL OUT OF SYNC. THERE IS NOT A DAY THAT GOES BY AT MY HOUSE THAT THERE IS **NOT** SOMEBODY ASKING SIRIUS 'Can you get me a pack of Midol- PLEASE?' HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES ME FEEL.."

Sirius was cut off by an amazing sight at the top of the stairs. It was a portrait of Godric Gryffindor and his family.

Lily looked up from her notebook when she heard gasps. They were right to gasp.

In a rather wide golden chair, there sat a man with messy black hair (A/N: hmm..) and playful eyes, a sort of gray-blue. On his lap sat two little girls, about age two. One little girl, age four, and a little boy, about six, stood leaning on the armrest. The girls had glittering blue eyes and silky, thin dark hair. The boy, standing regal and proud, had dark blue eyes and hair that was a rich, reddish black. What was behind the chair was magnificent. In a flowing white gown that looked like the things clouds are made of if you flattened them, was a pretty woman, her hair a sort of very, very dark auburn. Her eyes were twinkling blue, and she held a newborn child in her hands, a little girl, with her elder brother's dark blue eyes and her sisters' dark silky hair. The figures were like the Fat Lady, having personalities and voices (or in the baby's case, a scream). The boy waved merrily, his eyes twinkling.

"The picture captures Godric and his wife, and their six children. The eldest- eventually changing his name to Potter, a common name, when the witch-burnings set forth, for he wanted to protect his family- Was Orion. Orion was a strong and playful boy, but he had his responsibilities as the eldest. His youngest sister, the one Lady Gryffindor is holding, Gemini, was the one who discovered how to freeze a flame to protect witches from being burned. The little girl at Sir Gryffindor's feet is named Siria, the female version of the dog that followed Orion around. And did she ever. The Gryffindors were extremely interested in Astronomy, and there are even spots on the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts where you can find the Gryffindor children's names inscribed in the stones." Tara began, watching everyone look into the eyes of the Gryffindors.

"Their eyes are some that you can stare into for hours. They're famous. James has Orion's eyes, and I have those of the girls. The twins, Helena and Olympia, grew up to build Diagon Alley, but died shortly after completing the fascinating street- It was said that they had wandered into the new Knockturn Alley, and that's where they met their death. Siria took over and Gemini, known as Gem founded the Muggle-protection sections of the Ministry of Magic. Siria died of old age, and Gem was killed in a crusade for justice. Orion was the only one left after a while, hiding his mother in this very mansion, so that no one could take her away from him." Tara said in a dramatic voice. "Orion was legally under the name Potter, and he married a girl that was one of the first going to Hogwarts- The daughter of another founder, Regina Ravenclaw, who was one of the few who knew he was a Gryffindor, as he left Hogwarts in his fifth year and returned in his seventh, after taking care of his dieing family."

"Professor, I have a stomachache.. I'm sorry, the sandwiches were too rich for me.. Gross, pâté." Lily said as she clutched her notes tighter. 

"Go ahead, Lily. Rest up, we have a spectacular itinerary for the night." Dumbledore said, and Lily went up to her room.

"Remus- what sick excuse did you write for Dumbledore to get?" Sirius muttered as he watched the scene progress.

"Stomachache." Remus said, an evil grin forming on his face.

"Perfect." Sirius mused. "Tonight will be fun."

"Dumbledore- I think I've been plotting too hard- My head hurts.. I'm going up to rest, okay?" James asked, rubbing his temples.

"What excuse did you write for him?" Sirius asked in a low whisper, panicking.

"Migraine." Remus said, holding back a chuckle. 

"EVEN MORE BRILLIANT!" Sirius cried, getting very odd looks from some of the people in the lobby. "Hey, what 'cho lookin' at? I ain't got nothin', nothin', I tell ya!"

"He is the youngest of eight, with seven sisters." Remus explained.

"Ohhhhhh." The people said.

"I am getting sooo sick of social calls. I can't even last two days.." Lily muttered. "Well, I am not going to pay social calls-"

There came a knock at her door. Sirius was standing in her doorway.

"This is the itinerary for tonight. First stop- Chinese greasy food..."

"Then roller-disco, then ice cream cones.." Remus said, watching the odd expressions forming on James's face. "After that there is a little dance studio that has been willing to play some Tango songs.. To teach people.."

"And then we have walking in the park, out in the moonlight, getting some moving caricatures, then we go back and enjoy making fun of people having a formal dinner in the next room. Here's the schedule- Nothing's formal." Sirius finished, handing her a large, white square card.

"Thanks.. I guess.." She said, looking at Sirius's face, knowing he was trying not to laugh, and shutting the door slowly. She heard cackles of glee eventually fade, and she picked out a very nice outfit for them all.

It was a pair of emerald green cotton shorts that hugged her curves and showed off most of her thighs and all of her calves, with white socks with emerald green trim, her own pair of roller-boots, white with green wheels and green laces, and a white muscle t-shirt with green piping on the collar and the sleeves, and the green, loopy cursive on the upper part reading _Lily_. She had other shoes, white lace-up boots with silver laces, and she polished them to a very nice sheen.

While she added the finishing touches to her curling pigtails (fluffy green scrunchies) she wasn't aware that tonight she would be alone with James Potter.

James wasn't normally in informal clothes. He had very few things for a casual night out, but he dug something up. A new pair of dark-wash jeans and a black t-shirt, tucked in not so it looked geeky, but so it wouldn't look sloppy. He put his varsity jacket on, and tied the laces of his rollerblades together and flung them over his shoulder.

"WAIT! LILY!!" Sirius said, suddenly remembering a vital piece of information. "Did you pack your swimsuit?"

"Always do. Why?" She asked, slipping on a very large denim jacket and flinging her roller-boots of her shoulder (A/N: How alike two people can be).

"They forgot to put this swimming place down, after ice cream cones, before the.."

"Dance studio. So pack your trunks in a pocket or something. They'll have towels there. There's like this magically heated pool.." Remus began, but James stopped him.

"I know this town like the back of my hand. I'll go get them, alright? Who am I buddied with?" He asked, as they walked up the stairs to James's room.

"You're supposed to meet Lily in the lobby in half-an-hour." Remus said.

"Ah, lovely time to mess with Princess's head." He muttered, smiling. Remus shrugged and went to meet the group that was going to the real places tonight.

**_Do you remember_**

**_The 21st night of September?_**

**_Love was changing the minds of pretenders_**

**_While chasing the clouds away_**

The music made Lily look up. The words ridiculed her, but reminded her that she had a purpose- He hadn't even apologize- Wait, he did.. Or tried. She just avoided the subject. So is it her fault or his?

_He's the one that said those horribly mean things to you, Lily._

Yeah! His fault for starting it in the first place!

_Buuut.._

__Wait! There is not a but! There cannot be a but!

_He did try to apologize to you.._

Shut up.

**__**

**_Our hearts were ringing_**

**_In the key that our souls were singing_**

**_As we danced in the night remember_**

How the stars stole the night away 

**_ _**

_What was that?_ James looked up. The stars stole the night away. Yeah, they did.

"Oh, it's you." Lily growled, after perkily jumping down the stairs. "You'd think Dumbledore would notice we hated one another."

"Right. Can we just get this over with?" James asked in a sort of low whisper. "I've got a headache and I'd appreciate if you didn't yell tonight."

"Fine. Can we skip the Chinese food? My stomach already hurts enough." Lily muttered without blinking.

"Sure. Roller-disco, Prin- Lily?" James said, correcting himself.

**_ _**

**_Hey, hey, hey_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- say, do you remember_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- dancing in September_**

Ba-di-ya -- never was a cloudy day 

"Stop it! That tickles!" Lily shrieked as James lapped her again, intentionally brushing as close as he could to Lily.

"Race you!" He yelled. 

"Well, then, if you put it like that, of course!" She shouted. There was definitely no crowd to yell over, just the music.

James tried to lap her again, but the song played again in his head.

My thoughts are with you 

**_Holding hands with your heart_**

**_To see you, only blue talk and love_**

Remember how we knew love was here to stay? 

Unlike James, Lily had become immune to the music, words- Anything that reminded her she was not as confident as she would like.

The art of seduction was one that she learned from Claire- She was going to win this war. She was going to bring him into her..

The song hadn't frozen him long enough. He went headlong into her, almost falling over. He straightened up, but she fell backwards, into his arms. She giggled insanely as he held her up by her waist. They fell over laughing.

He remembered thinking he loved her laugh. He did.

Now December 

**_Found the love we shared in September_**

**_Only blue talk and love_**

**_Remember the true love we shared today._**

She watched him eat (or try to eat) his chocolate ice cream cone. He got this smidgen of chocolate chip stuck on his nose. She removed it with her thumb, and he leaned in.

She pulled away, smiling.

**_Hey, hey, hey_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- say, do you remember_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- dancing in September_**

Ba-di-ya -- never was a cloudy day 

"Belly flop!!!!" James yelled as he dived in. Lily shrieked as the water splashed everywhere. He emerged looking as good as ever. No chocolate on his nose. Not even that stupid smirk that annoyed her so much.

"CHERRY BOMB!!!" She shrieked as she ran to the diving board. He swam over to where he had emerged and he came closer. And closer. And she swam away playfully.

"Tango is very sensual. You need to listen to your feet, watch your partner, touch in the right spots to send signals, smell warning signals, taste the passion. Anger and passion invented this dance." The instructor said. Lily and James must have been the only young people in there. They were so close she could feel his sweat on her arms. He had taken off his jacket, for fear of missing the feel. The burning rhythm soared through their bodies.

**_ _**

**_And we'll sing_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- say, do you remember_**

**_Ba-di-ya -- dancing in September_**

Ba-di-ya -- golden dreams were shiny days 

**_ _**

"Have you noticed there's no one else here but us?" Lily said, arriving back at her senses when they walked through the park. The night air chilled her and there was this creepy, creepy feeling around here somewhere. He gave her his jacket.

"Just like the twenty-first of September." He murmured, looking around. "There's no caricaturist around here, just a gazebo."

"Smart, observant- Not the words the girls at Hogwarts think of when they think of you, I suppose." She muttered dryly. They sat down in the gazebo.

"Well," He said with fake pride, rubbinghis fist on his shirt, "We can't _all_ be pretty boys, can we?"

Lily laughed. "Pretty boys?"

"What, did you expect me to say studs?"

"WHERE?!" Lily asked, looking around enthusiastically.

"Not funny." He said, pouting with his 'puppy' lip.

"You realize that we're acting like a couple, right?" She asked, leaning in a bit. _This is the best part of the whole charade._

He leaned closer, hoping to get his famous signature move in. She pulled back suddenly.

"Let's get back, we're out a bit late." She said, perkily. 

The bells were ringing 

He walked her up to her room and she leaned against the door, knowing what he was trying to do.

**_ _**

**_Our love was singing._**

Just as he was supporting himself to lean in, she grasped the doorknob. But he was quicker. As she slowly opened the door, he kissed her. Square on the lips.

Do you remember every cloudy day? 

"Good night, Mister Potter." She said coyly, closing her door after her. Like the night of the opera, her friends were positioned in her room, with the lamplight flooding in softly, and Jackie giggling.

_"Good night, Mister Potter.."_ They teased, imitating Lily's dreamy voice and it's coy tone.

_"Good night, Mister Potter.."_ Helen said again, but Lily threw her pillow at Helen's stomach. This started an all out war. In the middle of flying feathers and the giggles her friends were making, Lily stopped. She was still wearing his jacket.

"Good night, Mister Potter." James murmured dreamily. He was sitting in the big lobby downstairs with the rest of the boys, and they chuckled and snorted.

_"Good night, Mister Potter." _They teased, unaware that they were _very_ unoriginal.

A/N: The song is _September_ by Earth, Wind and Fire, later reused for the movie _Get Over It_, now sung by Sisqo and Vitamin C. The song belongs to them and their rightful record companies and I hope you enjoyed the fic. Oh, yeah.. Um... I'm explaining the whole thing with Regina Ravenclaw later, in another fic set in the days of our terrific three.


	16. Mini-skirts, Yearbooks and Banisters, Oh...

"SNOW

"SNOW!!!" Arabella cried as she woke up. All of the girls had fell asleep talking (and taunting) in Lily's room.

"I suppose that means we can wear whatever we feel like- I know for a fact that nobody brought anything to go outside in this weather." Jenny said matter-of-factly, except, unlike Remus, it was kind of an annoying I'm-Better-Than-You-Are sort of voice.

Lily smiled. This was perfect. It was worth the ten Galleons.

Lily smoothed her hair straight. (Okay, I'll tell the truth. She used Sleakazie's or something). She wore an intentionally short white dress with white slide-in heels, no eye shadow (though she carried it in her handbag) and a glossy lipstick.

"Perfection is the goal. Seduction is its art." She whispered, reciting a line from Charm School.

Her dress had slim straps (though it could have held itself up without the straps) and had a very nice skirt that twirled with her.

She was ready to grab hold of James Potter's intentions.

"_Good night, Mister Potter_." Sirius teased as he, Remus and James stood at the foot of the spiraling stairs. "Did she seriously say that?"

"Yes." Arabella chimed from the lobby, drinking some hot cocoa. They were going to be playing Gobstones, studying, taking notes, organizing pictures, playing wizard chess, discussing Quidditch, playing Exploding Snap- Oh, how limited staying inside a five-star hotel can be.

"That's the first thing I'm going to say to her. We're supposed to organize some pictures for the yearbook (A/N: That and a bunch of other things will be explained in the epilogue) and study and that other wimpy stuff. Not in the breakfast room this morning. We're in the 'Book Room'. Let's see- Prefects and student council- Table six.. Other people, table five, Dumbledore's got errands to run, but we're being watched..." Remus explained from the schedule in front of him.

"What gives you that idea?" James pondered airily, not paying attention at all.

Remus grabbed him by the sleeve and showed him the schedule. 

In blinking letters read:

**_YOU ARE GOING TO BE WATCHED!!!!!_**

**_ _**

"Right." Sirius added. "Ah, here comes Princess Lily herself."

Lily cringed unnoticeably at the head of the stairs, but she heard the gasps as she made her way down. 

There was an arrogant, satisfied smile on her face. She shook her head and her movements were in a sort of glowing slow motion for the people in awe. Her red curls were bouncing in and out of place.

"Sirius, what are we doing today?" She asked as she came down. "I feel like I'm wearing too little."

"N-n-n-nope.. We're staying in all day." James stammered as Sirius stood frozen, his jaw gracing the carpet.

"What first then? She asked finally reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"Yearbook." Remus said quickly. "You, me, James, Munguldus, Sirius and Helen."

"Gotcha. I'll go get my pictures." She hopped back up the stairs, knowing that at least one male in the room was paying attention to her departure. The skirt wasn't that short, but short enough to catch one's eye.

The Book Room was full of horseshoe shaped booths. Near the large opening toward the bathrooms, there was a particularly shiny, leather booth that Sirius insisted they select. It was very roomy, but Lily ended up sitting on the seat closest to the bathrooms, James ended up on the seat farthest.

She was sorting through Sirius's pictures (even though they moved, they could be too obscene) and she found one that, if it had been Muggle, would have had James lying on the concrete, with a black eye, and Lily chomping away at a sandwich in a cafe chair five feet away, her elbows on the table. She giggled.

"What's so funny about me being hurt?" James asked, taking a peek at the photo in front of her.

"That is sort of obvious." Sirius chimed.

"That wasn't what I was laughing at, but thank you Sirius. I was laughing at the fact that my back is slumped, my elbows on the table, my legs are swinging to an uneven rhythm. My Charm School teacher would have killed me." She said. "Put that one in the yearbook."

The photographed James was loving the attention. Though still stuck to the ground, he was posing like a model in a fashion magazine spread. He was also blowing kisses towards everybody.

"Yep, all them darn girls will just go moogoly-googoly over this one." Remus pointed out in his worst hillbilly accent.

"I bet you ten Sickles that James will NOT be doing that in the yearbook." Sirius pointed out.

"He probably won't be. By then, Lily would have killed him, and he'd be lying in a joke coffin." Munguldus muttered, with very few but Remus hearing him.

"Lily, your butt- It's got this really nice curve.." James began, looking at the picture and unaware that anyone was really there. Then he looked up, snapped back, and saw the entire table staring at him. Especially aghast Lily. "S-s-s-sorry, it's a reflex! Male chauvinism!"

"Speak for yourself, bucko!" Remus snapped.

"How do you want it, slow and excruciatingly painful, or fast and excruciatingly painful?" Munguldus whispered. Helen was giggling.

"Today on Channel Six News: The Eye of the Owl: A homicide case- And a mixture of really, really stupid people. James Potter made a rather, er, rude exclamation The fifteen year old boy, a Hogwarts Gryffindor student on a special trip, was taking a crack at the yearbook and Lily Evans, a fellow Hogwarts Gryffindor fifth year, was the party in offense.." Sirius began, trying to keep a straight face.

"I am going to powder my nose." She huffed. The skirt bounced with her, and basically the only one who could see what was going on was James. Lily had gotten her share of mental-undressing and he was watching her walk to the bathroom. He kept leaning outward, as there were a lot of potted plants in his viewpoint.

He began to think aloud again. "Why does she do that? The intentionally short skirts, the smooth legs... Yummy.."

Before anyone had a chance to shut him up, he fell out of the booth by trying to watch her. Lily looked back for just a moment to seal him there. When the yearbook came out, not more than thirteen people asked why all the shots of James on a normal day in Godric's Hollow were on the floor.

"And he fell out of the booth!!! It was sooo funny!!!" Sirius was slapping his knee by now. The chill had gotten to Lily, and she changed into a long-sleeved tee and a pair of old, yet figure-hugging jeans. She pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail and was downstairs in a matter of minutes. Arabella laughed just to get him to go away, he was starting to creep her out.

"You know what that banister would be good for?" James asked suddenly, making everyone in the lobby look up.

"Sliding." Lily said quickly. "Haven't done that in a while."

"Care to join me?" James asked.

"I'm afraid of.. Heights?" She lied unconvincingly.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you at the bottom." He said, that familiar smirk planted on his face.

"That'll be sure to rest my fears." She muttered sarcastically, but she climbed up the two flights along with him.

"Okay, I'll go first. And you know if I don't try to catch you, somebody, some GUY will." He said as she looked frightened. He heard a 'fine' and started to slide.

Lily could hear that whoosh as he went down the marble staircase, and his laughter. He was right, this would be fun.

"Ready?" He called.

"Ready!!" She called back. She sat down and secured herself to the banister, then slid down like she was on a toob at the water park, and the banister was the toob.

She shrieked on the way down, but this was nice. She passed many a prissy French maid, a shocked old lady, a mighty cute stud (she noted to point him out to James.. A real stud) and by the time she got to the bottom of the stairs, her fears were rested. She must have flown ten feet off the banister before she landed in a huff in James's arms.

"You thought that was good? You should try the one at home." Lily pointed out as they ran up the stairs again.

Sirius and Remus poked their heads out. "What have we done?"

James was getting hopeful on the way up. _When will I do that? Her home? Wonder why it's better than this one.._

"Here.. We're early." Lily said, handing him a towel.

"What is that for?" He asked as he surveyed her. They were getting ready for the second ball. She had on a diamond necklace and matching dangling earrings, and hunter green velvet block heels. Her dress was with an empire waist, the top part emerald silk with a matching silk sash that turned into a low train. The skirt was emerald green velvet from the high-waisted sash. Her sleeves were short and puffed, trimmed with emerald green velvet bows. She was tying a matching towel around her waist.

"They just polished the banister. I want to go ride. We're really early, so we can take a ride, then hide the towels." She said simply. Some of her curls were pinned up, the rest of them down, kind of like the night before, except no ornamentation.

She was part right. Their first ride, James caught her at the bottom, spinning her around. Then James took another go. He was ready to catch her, his back to the filling room. And he spun her around twice. Well, once, when she noticed there were other people there besides her friends, and in the middle of the second spin, he slowly stopped.

They tried not to burst into giggles, which was very hard, as Madame Effex and her new gigolo of the night were staring openly with their jaws wide open, and the American Minister of Magic laughing in snorts, and Tara staring with a deadening glare in her eyes.

They slowly untied the towels and handed them to Monroe, a rather snooty waiter. Or, more like, they put it in his horrible escargot.

Tonight there were few formalities, just a desperate struggle on Lily and James's part not to burst out laughing whenever Monroe or Madame Effex came around. The Queen herself was snorting, this time sitting next to James.

"This tradition of breaking in new girlfriends.. Does it often work?" She whispered to James as Lily scooped herself some macaroni and cheese with a lot of fancy trappings on top. He stared in horror that his aunt had seen him in a well-tailored tuxedo with a towel wrapped around his waist spinning some girl around after flying down a banister.

"Well, it worked once before." He whispered back, remembering the time she forgave him after she nearly fell off of what? A banister. This was going to be fun.

Tonight they had very lively dances. There was no time for talk when the gavotte music began to play. The music had no gaps, as the orchestra took no requests. After a very nice version of Vivaldi's _Spring_ (it was one of Lily's favorites), another song began to play.

It was meant to be a slow waltz, but Lily couldn't move. She was glad James was so tall that he literally held her up, her feet going into auto-pilot. She got a dreamy look on her face, but it felt more like a nightmare. _Moonlight Sonata_ played in an echoing, creepy key.

She stopped, and planted her feet firmly on the ground. James was the only one who noticed. She ran out of the ballroom and into the cold, shivering on the grand porch.

"What's wrong, Lily?" James asked when he got outside. Strains of _Moonlight Sonata_ came playing out of the open doors.

She was in sort of a trance. "It's so sad, isn't it? The song, I mean. Just freezes you in place. Gave me goose bumps. It was like I was in this sort of galaxy, the way you see them on charts, and I was standing in the middle of the stars, with them slowly rotating around me. They were there, but every time I tried to reach them, my fingers went through. As if I was in this sort of enchanted music box, slowly spinning with strains of music too old to recognize. Sort of scary. I just want to close my eyes and disappear. Onto the streets of Paris, even. That is romantic.."

Tears were filling up her eyes, and she couldn't speak anymore, she was choking on them. She wouldn't cry. Charm School had prevented that.

The song had finished. The tears had disappeared. Lily was no longer the scared little girl he had just seen. She was an elegant, regal young lady who had stepped out for some air. She had to lie to herself and the world, and James was going to regret that he had to break her heart.


	17. Bright Pink Leather and Mister Bojangles

"Tell me the story of Lady Lillian

"Tell me the story of Lady Lillian." Lily murmured sleepily. This time they had stayed until the only people around were those from Hogwarts. James was leading her up to her room and this was possible the seventh time she had asked in the past hour.

"Later." James muttered equally sleepy. "I don't want you having nightmares."

"It's not that bad is it?" She asked as they got up to her room.

"It can be.. It takes too long to tell. Lily, just go to sleep." He said, sitting down in a huff, leaning on the wall next to her room. She closed the door softly behind her and he fell asleep to the sweet lullaby of her jewelry box.

"I swear, she is PMSing, one minute she's angry the next she's all romantical!" Munguldus whispered loudly as the boys of the Quidditch team joined Remus in his room.

"No." Sirius said. He hadn't spoken all night, and even though he said it quietly, it was still a surprise.

"What makes YOU the wise guy?" Ronan asked. "I am getting mighty sick of you acting like you're an expert on girls."

"Seven older sisters. SEVEN older sisters. All of them PMSing on different days of the week. Then add my mother, and my eight female cousins and my four aunts and my two grandmothers.." He began, but Remus shot him a look.

"Anyway, she's not PMSing. She's just going through mental withdrawal." Sirius said simply, grabbing for a cookie on the plate in front of Rafe. Rafe pulled the plate away.

"What do you mean?" Rafe demanded in a soft voice.

"I mean that she had a crush on him before, and she's trying her best to convince herself she doesn't like him. However, she has found the reasoning- What the hell? This is the last week I'll like him, the last week I'll give in. On the contrary, that philosophy never works." Sirius said simply, biting into the cookie he swiped. "Eww! Is this oatmeal?"

"Why is he blessed with the understanding of women?" Munguldus whined to Remus.

"Seven sisters, a mother, two grandmothers, eight female cousins, four aunts.." Remus began, but Ronan shushed him.

"That's about twenty-two females in one house. Does he ever get peace?" Rafe asked in wonder.

"Why do you think he spends his summers at James's house now?" Remus asked simply. 

"Twenty-two females in one house.." Munguldus muttered. All of the boys shuddered in unison.

"Thirty." Sirius said.

"THIRTY?" Ronan, Rafe and Munguldus chorused.

"Eight godmothers." Remus explained.

"No wonder he is blessed." Rafe said.

"Let's see..." Ronan began. "That would be about five days out of the year without PMS. But he would only be able to enjoy three of them. One in July, one in August, and one in December during Christmas break."

"That is, if they don't skip." Munguldus pointed out. The boys shuddered again.

(A/N: If you want to know how these boys know sooo much about femininity, Sirius explained it all a long time ago.)

"What are we going to do today? I mean, we've done the sightseeing, the shopping.. The social calls, the balls, the opera.." Arabella said as the girls all prepared up in Lily's room, ticking off the events off her fingers.

"Social calls?" Lily wondered.

"You were sick that night." Helen pointed out.

"I haven't been sick since June 13th." Lily protested. "I don't get sick."

"You had a stomachache!" Missy protested.

"It was the night of _Good night, Mister Potter._ Remember?" Jenny asked with a yawn.

"YOU were the ones that didn't show up. It ended up me and James." Lily said, pinning up a curl furiously.

The girls suddenly remembered they slipped the plan, almost.

"Never mind. We need some more shots for the yearbook. And we do have a little report to write." Helen added smoothly, making Lily forget entirely.

"Yeah, I should have gotten some shots at the Pavilion in Town Park, some shots of Lillian Pond, the basics." Lily said. "I'm a horrible photographer though. I'll need Sirius with me."

"Why don't we split into two groups?" Helen asked with a lot of honey in her tone. "Three couples per group."

"Then where would James and I be stuck in. You know we're not dating." Lily pointed out.

Missy dropped her voice so only her accomplices could hear. "Yet."

Helen shot her a look. "Okay, we'll make five of the boys go with you, and Remus, yeah, Remus.. He's a good photographer.. He'll go with us. You supervise their pictures, Lil."

"This is perfect. Okay, um.. Let's see.. All of you are the Quidditch team boys.. Rafe, sit in the center. Sirius and Ronan, you guys kneel behind him. James and Munguldus, stand up behind them." Lily said, making big movements with her arms. "Perfect."

The camera flashed and clicked, and they got their shot on the bridge.

"Okay, how 'bout we have, um.. Stay there but do a silly shot." Lily said. Sirius acted like Marilyn Monroe in 'The Seven Year Itch', Rafe posed like a body-builder, Ronan was blowing kisses at the camera, Munguldus was doing a very weird disco move, and James crossed his eyes and tried to touch his nose with the tip of his tongue.

Lily giggled and snapped a few shots. "Any other ideas?"

"Let's go to the Pavilion. Get some romance shots of the couples around there." Sirius said instantly. Munguldus, Rafe, and Ronan were about to protest, but they caught on quickly.

"There's no one here, Sirius." Lily pointed out as a tumbleweed rolled by. "It's Lovers Lane but no one is here."

"We'll just have to improvise. This is one of the most romantic spots in all of England, and don't you refuse me this shot." Sirius said. "James, take Lily's hand and make goo-goo eyes at her." He got behind his camera and pointed to a spot on the spiraling path.

"WHAT?" Lily and James chorused.

"Helen, Arabella and Jackie would kill you if it wasn't otherwise." Sirius said as if they were from Jupiter.

"Fine." They pouted. However, they were good models. The shadows fell over them, so they were just silhouettes in the rising sun. It was quite a contrast to the dull green leaves of the hedges and the brown leaves on the concrete path. It was, in Sirius's words, quite romantical.

Everybody (including Sirius, he did a very odd self-portrait) took some shots at the Pavilion. When it came down to Lily, she had the boys crooning behind her like back-up singers and she was a USO entertainer, she had some shots of just goofing off, and finally, she dragged James to the steps of the green-roofed white pavilion.

"I should have gotten this shot on Tuesday." She whispered. She arranged it so that her, in her jeans and bright green sweater and some odd headband, was sitting on his lap and her arms were around his neck, and he, in a dark blue sweater and a pair of black jeans, had his arms around her waist. They looked quite cute, smiling like a happy couple with flushed cheeks and such towards the camera.

"This is a shot I'm going to keep." Sirius whispered as the camera flashed.

"Marauders?" Lily whispered to Remus, Sirius and James. This was a tradition that was never forgotten.

"Marauders to the bone." They chorused softly.

The four fifth years were donned completely in non-revealing black, with soft-soled boots so they could tiptoe, ski-hats and gloves. They had their pack of pranks behind them.

Madame Effex was checking in, dressed head-to-toe in bright pink leather, matching handbag, her peroxide-blonde hair in some odd pompadour, fluffier than usual, and a little ugly furry head poking out of her handbag. Her right heel was broken, she was heavily drunk, and with a bright pink cigarette holder loosely placed between her index and middle finger of her right hand.

"What's that?" Lily asked of the furball that was barking insanely.

Sirius stifled a very contagious laugh.

"_That_ is Mister Bojangles, Madame Effex's dog. Pomeranian, I believe." Remus said. James and Sirius exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

"Shut up, you two.. Perfect.. She's dead drunk. She wouldn't recognize us as the culprit if it cost Mister Bojangles's life." Lily whispered excitedly. "Marauders?"

"To the bone." They whispered back. With a complicated handshake ending in a butt bump, the four split up.

Madame Effex was quite proud of herself. She had shaved her legs to a certain extent, and wore a bright pink leather mini-dress with a matching coat about the same length and a big, stand-up V collar. And Mister Bojangles was cooperation today. Let's see.. Monday was the Italian gigolo, Wednesday was the Mexican one, now a local wouldn't be too bad.. Or maybe a French one..Hell, why not have both? She was giddy enough not to remember this decision unless Mister Bojangles joined her the next night..

_Splat_. The pins in Madame Effex's blonde hair came undone, and she gathered the nearest clump to her face. She wiped a rather stinky gunk from her hair and threw it to the floor. Mister Bojangles smelt of a whole bottle of cheap, feminine perfume, and pink powdered sugar exploded into the air, so not only was her hair covered in muck, but pinkish brown muck. And some scarlet and gold sparks erupted from the end of her cigarette, putting it out and reading in big, bright letters, _Smoking is bad for you._

"Marauders?" Lily whispered as the four snuck back upstairs as people started running around in major chaos.

"To the bone." They whispered back. "Night, Lily."

"Night, MPP!" She called. She changed quickly into her silken nightclothes and put on a fabulous act of sleeping when the girls snuck into her room to inquire about the prank below.

A/N: Yes, I did use a bit of Ella Enchanted, and in a later chapter, I will. Do you like Mister Bojangles? He'll be appearing again, along with Sirius's duck Seymour, which will probably be turned into Taste Like Chicken's Bucket Special of the Week- Ten Pieces for $3.99! But, that's for you to decide after the next chapter.


	18. Seymour the Duck and Letters From Home

"Something smells foul

"Something smells foul." Lily said as she trudged down to breakfast. James and Remus snorted, as they were passing Madame Effex on the staircase, looking just the same as before, except, if it was possible, even more drunk.

"You mean good old Seymour?" Sirius asked, pulling out the mallard duck he had been hiding at the hotel for the past few days. "Sniff him. I think it's just Mister Bojangles." He held out Seymour the duck and when her face showed utter disgust, he shrugged and tucked Seymour the duck under his arm and started cooing and petting the bird.

Lily gawked. There was a duck in Sirius's arms.

"Not fowl. Foul." Remus corrected.

"There is a duck in Sirius's arms." Lily stated, her jaw still brushing the floor.

"That's Seymour." James muttered. "Sirius's duck."

"There is a duck in Sirius's arms." Lily repeated, apparently still amazed.

"Seymour, Sirius's duck, the mallard he caught at Lillian Pond the other day." Remus explained.

"Seymour the duck is a cutsie-wootsie-pie, isn't you, Seymour?" Sirius cooed. 

"There is a duck in Sirius's arms." Lily announced. Remus scowled and Seymour squawked at James.

"Riiight..." James said, looking in the other direction.

"Marauders?" James asked Sirius, Remus and Seymour.

"To the bone." They squawked back. Seymour was still hooting when Sirius released him from the banister over the lobby where the girls were sitting.

_Splat_. "Alright, Black. That duck is this week's special at Taste Like Chicken- Ten Pieces for $3.99!" Lily shrieked as she removed duck splat from her hair.

"NOT SEYMOUR!!!!!!!!!!" Sirius moaned from his spot. He tried to Summon Seymour, but Lily was quicker. She had the duck under her arm and was stroking his head like Dr. Evil with Mister Bigglesworth. (A/N: I am so sorry, but there have been a lot of weird comedies with pets in them that have been on television lately.)

"Make a move, Black, and Seymour is the TLC Bucket Special of the Week." She muttered in a very threatening voice.

"SEYMOUUUUUUUR!!! I BEG OF YOU, LILY!! I BEG OF YOU, OH GODDESS OF HOGWARTS, QUEEN OF GRYFFINDOR!!! I BEG OF YOU, OH LILY ISABELLE EVANS-POT.. NEVER MIND THAT!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T KILL SEYMOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sirius begged on his knees and whining at the top of his lungs.

Lily grinned at her friends. She had found the weakness of Sirius Black. She continued to stroke Seymour's head and walked off to her room, ready to prepare for the ball.

"You know what, Seymour? You're actually quite a good companion." Lily muttered as she prepared, tossing him a piece of the roll from lunch. "Much better than your owner and his stupid friends."

Seymour squawked.

"Well, when I'm done putting gunk in my hair, we'll put gunk on your feathers, making them all shiny." Lily said as she put the finishing touches on her dress. She had it made to look like the dress Queen Godrica had worn for the first ball, except in a ravishing hunter green. The velvet train followed her about in the prettiest fashion, and her kid gloves were made of finely-manufactured leather. She had a matching smart hat, a hunter green velvet pillbox with a golden tassel. The last ball was outdoor, sort of. They had expanded the Pavilion, and there were supposed to be tents all over the park. 

Lily found an adorable little tux made of sleek black fabric, with a little cummerbund.. She didn't get the pants, but the bowtie was adorable. Seymour was prancing in front of the mirror on her dressing table, with his oiled feathers making the light dance.

"You are more vain than your owner, Seymour." She said with a giggle. "And, believe me, much better looking in a tuxedo."

Seymour seemed to know he was being complimented. He tucked his head under his silk-covered wing, as if blushing.

While Seymour stopped his false modesty and began to preen again, Lily put a pair of golden lily earrings in her ears, highly carved with immense detail and polished until they shone like the sun on an autumn afternoon. She stopped in the middle of putting on the second one.

Something was missing. She wasn't complete. Seymour squawked at the ticking clock, and she tucked him under her arm and went downstairs.

"Nice accessory. I truly thought that Taste Like Chicken would have a duck special soon." James whispered to her as he offered his arm. She let her free arm slip onto it.

"I'm just making a statement. Can you believe Madame Effex still looks like she did yesterday morning?" Lily asked. "And Mister Bojangles is still in her purse."

"He is?" James nearly squealed. He whipped his head around.

"SHHHH!! She'll know it was us, she's sober now." Lily shrieked as quietly as possible.

"SEYMOUR!!!!! I THOUGHT THE EVIL WITCH HAD KILLED YOU!!!!!!!!!!" Sirius cooed across the park. He ran up to fetch his duck.

Lily hid her laughter in James's sleeve. He was practically holding her up, she was laughing so hard.

However, Seymour was not as pleased to leave Lily's side. He flew up and landed on Lily's hat.

"Miss Evans, I did not know it was the fashion anymore to wear stuffed birds on your, er, head." Said a rather snooty duchess from Germany that Lily had gotten onto the bad side of.

Queen Godrica came quickly over to save Lily with an owl attached to her crown.

"There's something missing, child." She said with her clickety-click accent, as soon as the duchess had disappeared.

"It's like I'm not, well.." Lily began, agreeing.

"Complete." James murmured. He did something, and Queen Godrica nodded regally and went to go annoy the duchess.

Lily's hand went instantly to her neck, where she felt a warm locket. She didn't look down, but she wanted to touch it again.

"I bet you are going to get married last of all of us. The people here from Hogwarts, I mean." James whispered in her ear. She snapped back to reality.

"I bet I'll get a proposal first." She hissed as they stepped down from the Pavilion's platform.

"Whatever you say, _Princess_." He said with a teasing smirk.

"Watch your back... You, you.. YOU FLOBBERWORM!!!" She said, at a loss for intelligence. He broke apart from her and started walking backwards on the platform that covered a slim area of pure blue water.

"That the best you can do?" He asked.

"No." She said silently. "This is." She stormed up to him and pushed him in the water. He fell backwards, Seymour flew off her head, and Queen Godrica used all the dignity she could muster to keep herself from laughing at her poor nephew's, well, uh, female situation.

James's quill scratched the parchment in front of him.

_Easy Ways to Take Care of Our Little Princess_

_ _

_1.__Play Moonlight Sonata_

_2.__Tell her a bit about Lady Lillian_

_3.__Show her that stupid photo Sirius made me take._

_4.__Hum that lullaby she has, that one from Les Miserables._

_5.__Call her Princess..._

Everything was completely different on the train. Everyone who had been silent on the last train ride (meaning everyone besides James and Lily) was chattering. Lily was silently reading in the corner, and across the train compartment, James was teaching himself the words to the song that played on Lily's music box.

Suddenly, an owl flew in. It was one from Hogwarts, the letter attached penned by a Muggle. Claire. Lily stood up and grabbed the letter from around the owl's claws.

Lily slowly ripped the envelope open, hoping it was news of the divorce. Seymour flew over to her and rubbed his head on her arm. Lily gasped silently. She collapsed into her chair and rubbed her temples. Seymour sat on her shoulder, rubbing his head on her neck.

Hardly anybody noticed the letter to the side of Seymour. All they noticed is that Lily had fainted in her chair.__


	19. Mrs. Lily Snape?

Arabella rushed over to the spot where Lily was sitting, and through all the hubbub, Remus picked up the letter and read al

Arabella rushed over to the spot where Lily was sitting, and through all the hubbub, Remus picked up the letter and read aloud.

"Dearest Darling Stepdaughter Number Two (Lillian? Right?).. Most recently as of late, your father's problems with food have become worse and worse as our marriage began to deteriorate. Last night we had Creole food, and it must have been waaay to spicy for him, as he simply snuffed out. I want you home for Christmas to meet any young man who wishes to have your hand in marriage (I've placed an ad in the Daily Prophet and that Witch Weekly thing). Most likely I will send you off to a rich magical society family- Pack your best and be prepared to come home for Easter too. There has already been an offer- A young black-haired man about your age, he is your, er, Potions partner.. Kisses, Claire." Remus said, imitating the voice that Sirius said Claire had. He knew that the light, airy tone was probably how Claire had written it, but an edge got into his voice towards the end of the letter. He thought and thought, and Jackie was the first to realize it.

"SEVERUS SNAPE PROPOSED?!?!" She shrieked, which awoke Lily promptly.

"WHAT?" Lily shrieked, then fainted back into her chair.

Lily woke up in the hospital wing, with Sirius standing at a window, looking sadly out onto the drenched grounds, Remus sitting at the foot of her bed, comforting Jackie, who was sobbing like mad, Arabella was sitting in a rocking chair to her left, and Rafe stood at the door. Madame Pomfrey was trying her best to keep the other door from bursting open, as someone seemed to be pounding at it.

"What's going on? Jackie, Arabella?" She asked, her voice timid, but it squeaked in a worried way.

"Lily, lay back down. You are not going to like this." Arabella began. Sirius turned around and looked like he was going to burst.

"How is that a way to break it to your best friend that she has to marry a SLYTHERIN?!?!!" Sirius roared.

Lily started sobbing. Jackie rushed over to comfort her, Arabella got to her other side, and she shot glares at Sirius.

Finally, after an annoying repetitive pounding, the door burst open. Snape and James tumbled in.

"Oh, Lily, darling- The news of your father must be.." Snape began, cooing in a very realistic caring tone, but James looked ready to punch him.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! YOU ARE NOT HER FRIEND! You, you, YOU! Get out. Just get out." James sputtered. Snape took a step backward. "GO ON! GET!"

Snape rushed out of the hospital wing and James collapsed into the spot where Jackie had been sitting.

"Thanks. It makes me feel a bit better.. But it isn't as bad as having a Death-Eater-in-training for a husband.. Their wives.. Once they get married- Don't get to go back to.. Hogwarts.. That means.." Lily whispered, running out of breath.

"You can't come back if you get married to him?" Sirius asked meekly. Seymour the duck squawked quietly, imitating his owner's tone.

"Come 'ere, Seymour." Lily said between sobs. He flew up into her open arms and she hugged him tightly.

"If I don't come back, how will I be able to be everything I want to be?" Lily asked him, as if she was all alone in the room. "I couldn't stand it if everyone grew up and got to do everything they wanted to do and I was stuck in a decaying mansion giving birth all the time?" 

The boys in the room shuddered. Lily Snape.. Little Severus Snape Junior.. Eww...

"You know what I remember thinking? And saying? The first day that James got back, he would have been what Claire would have married me off to. I remember thinking that again.. Funny.. Now with my dad out of the way, he could've been.." Lily said, laughing hysterically. The laughter sounded like cans that had been piled up, falling onto the floor of an empty room.

"I thought I could mess her world up, look at Claire." James whispered quietly, not quite able to take it anymore. He left silently, sure Lily wouldn't notice. She didn't.

"Oh god." Lily whispered, erupting into sobs again. "I'm going to marry a Slytherin."

"Keep Seymour. He loves you more than he loves me." Sirius said with a weak smile. Lily tried to stop crying long enough to thank him. It was obvious to everyone in the room that it hurt him so much to give up his duck, but he was being very nice. "Maybe he can poop on your version of Madame Effex."

"Maybe." Lily murmured. She started sobbing again. "I'm going to marry a Slytherin. I'm going to marry a Slytherin."

A/N: I whipped this out at 5:00 central time, and I got home, reading your reviews, at 4:47, central time.. I hope you're happy.


	20. Lilies Don't Bloom In Society

Lily stayed in the hospital wing, finishing her lessons there

Lily stayed in the hospital wing, finishing her lessons there. Seymour the duck kept her company while everyone was in classes, and Munguldus and James brought her news of the prefects' meetings, Jackie and Arabella the latest gossip, Sirius and Remus of their latest pranks, Rafe about news of the Quidditch team (and time to time they would work out a few new strategies, he said it was quieter in the hospital wing). The day before Christmas vacation, Lily silently and secretly returned to her dormitory to pack.

Sirius had given her everything to take care of Seymour, and said that he was always available to duck-sit. She chose her most modest things to wear, knowing Claire wanted her to be a prowling seductress, a minx, even. She was going to get rid of Severus Snape, once and for all.

Meanwhile, in a dormitory not too far away, James Potter was planning the exact same thing.

"Men? Ladies? This Christmas holiday will NOT be the usual kind. We are going to break up Severus Snape's every desire about Lily, convince Claire that that was her fault, and ultimately find Lily a new guy, because we know Claire won't give up." James announced to his group. The replacement Marauders (Remus was out, full moon, and Peter wussed out) were Jackie and Arabella, and Sirius was rubbing his hands together with a very dangerous glint in his eye.

Arabella and Jackie led them to the London hotel where Lily and Claire were deciding on what to do for an engagement ball, and that's when James got an idea.

"Mrs. Evans! Mrs. EVANS!! Oy! Mrs. Claire Dubois-Evans!!!" James cooed in a high-pitched Southern accent from across the marble lobby.

Claire turned. She fit Lily's description, rather on the chubby side, two two many facelifts, bright, expensive clothing, and blonde hair that was obviously fake.

"Hi there, Mrs. Evans! I am J.J. Pottare, party planner extraordinaire, and this is my crew. Gary Stu, Mary Ellis, and Jackie-Lyn. We're Americans.. We heard about your desperate need for a party planner, and here we be!!" James said, continuing the accent and dancing around in a circle.

"Hi, I'm Jackie-Lyn." Jackie said with a voice developed in California. She waggled a few fingers in the air, showing off her beautifully polished plastic rings.

"I'se be Gary Stu." Sirius said, playing with invisible suspenders. He had a low-pitched accent formed deep in the soul of Alabama. He spat invisible tobacco in the other direction.

"I, Madame Aevans, am Mary Ellis." Arabella said, turning up her nose in the air, pretending (with a horrible accent) she was French. She adjusted her beret in a very snooty fashion.

"We are here to help! How old is your sister?" James asked as Lily approached. He hoped the disguises would work.

Claire blushed and took the compliment lightly. "She's my stepdaughter. She's fifteen, just this past September."

Lily looked horrified. She knew she recognized these people, but their voices, and their looks.. Maybe it was right, everyone in this world has a twin somewhere and in some form.

"If you leave everything to me, my team and your stepdaughter, we'll have a fantabulous ball!" James said.

"Why, thank you, J.J. You have figured out all of our problems." Claire said. It was amazing how easy it is to push over that kind of rich.

"Well, Madame Aevans, come vith me." Arabella said snootily. "I am Marie Eyyes, or in Engles, Mary Ellis." 

"May I call you Marie?" Lily asked timidly.

"NO! It is Marie Eyyes and that it shall remain." Arabella snapped. "Let us go select your dresses."

"Gary Stu will select the food." Sirius said, making Lily look at him. Who would be so vain that they would refer to themselves in the third person? These people sure were some characters.

"And we will plan the whole substance of the ball, kay, kay, Lillian?" James asked, flapping his arms about. "You just give us your guest list and we'll edit it."

"We can go over it later.. My name is Lily." She said, still in shock, when Arabella led her away.

"Jackie, you go fetch the guest list Claire has." James ordered, no longer in need for an accent. "Sirius, whatever you want to do with the food- Do it.. But be civilized. No buffalo wings." 

"You take all the fun out of things, boss." He said, saluting James. 

James looked over the new list. Previously it had been only Slytherins and people Claire had invited. Now it included James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Jackie, Arabella, Rafe, Munguldus, Helen and Ronan. Those were special invitations, saying just to mingle and lay low.

James had gone over what the orchestra was going to play (at about ten thirteen they were to play _Midnight Sonata_), what people were to wear (the them was ducks and tiaras.. You had to wear a little of both to get in), the decorations were in place, the food prepared in the kitchens, and Mister Snape would be arriving presently.

Sure enough, Snape (who had cleaned himself up considerably) arrived with a small entourage of Slytherins, with a present under his arm and bags waiting behind him.

"SEVVY!!" James cooed in his southern accent. The entire time his hair had been tamed and he had a high-pitched voice and a very thin mustache. Snape looked taken aback.

"I'm the party planner and welcome to the Founding Four Six-Star Hotel!" He called. "I am J.J. Pottare, and this is Gary Stu, Jackie-Lyn and presently Marie Eyyes (you can call her Mary Ellis) will be coming downstairs with that blushing fiancée of yours!"

Snape was still confused. Jackie's normally long brown hair was clipped short and framing her face, and Sirius's hair was oiled and slicked back. Jackie wore vinyl-cloth clothing and Sirius dressed like a tobacco farmer.

"And, Sevvy, dahling, who are these fine people?" James asked as J.J.

"I am Sir Lucius Malfoy." Said Malfoy with a very unusual air of politeness. He bowed.

"I am alikin' that Sir!" Jackie said, batting her eyes.

"I am Goyle, this is Crabbe." Said Goyle. They both bowed awkwardly, and Malfoy scowled.

"I am Avery, milady.." Avery said, sweeping his finest bow out and taking her hand, kissing the top of her palm. Jackie pasted a very fake smile on and tried not to wince or cough from Avery's fumes.

"Missy Lily will be down asoon. Why don't ya'll sit down and we have a nice chat?" Sirius asked, walking like a penguin over to the nearest chair.

"Now ya'll know what the theme is? You gots to wear a crown and a small duck somewhere. Missy Lily loves that kind of things- Especially being spoiled and treated like a princess.. Master Sevvy, why don't you call her princess every now and then? It sure would score you points." James cooed. Jackie gave him a questioning look.

"Uh.. Sure?" Snape said, still confused. But he looked up at the staircase and saw Lily at the head of the stairs.

Her dress was white and long and shimmering, with a matching long robe. Her hair was spread out on her shoulders, and she did not look ready for a party.

"Good day to you, Master Snape." She said quietly as she passed them. "I hope you are enjoying your Yule holiday."

"I am now." He murmured. Sirius gagged.

Malfoy was getting wide-eyed at Arabella. "I am Marie Eyyes.." She said silently, looking like the best part-Veela she could be.

Lily's head was raised high, and she slipped into a room with Arabella following her, one that not even James could get into- The Ladies' Room.

There were to be two balls. The first was the ball of ducks and tiaras, introductions to rich people and families, and basically boring. The second one Snape had to decide whether Lily was worthy of him, and Claire had to decide if he was rich enough, if his title was big enough, if he had enough richer connections. Between that time they were to be chaperoned and have their entourages around them at all times, but they were supposed to be together for twelve hours of the day.

Mr. and Mrs. Snape came to dinner that night. Mrs. Snape looked like Arabella, with black hair and a scowl stuck on her face. Mr. Snape was a sharper, larger version of Severus, looking approvingly of his future daughter-in-law. Beauty, brains, and quiet. BBQ.. You know what that spells?! Never mind.

Lily barely ate that night. She enjoyed Jackie-Lyn's senseless chatter, and Mary Ellis's arrogant aloofness. Gary Stu was quite amusing, but words could not describe J.J. Familiar, somehow, but there was something there... Pain when she smiled at someone else, when she truly laughed, something about him was.. Never mind.

"Lillian, darling, where ever did you get that magnificent locket? Rubies, gold.. Quite pretty chain. Is that a lion I see?" Mrs. Snape asked, sounding (for the first time) sincere.

"I don't know how it got there, it's just been there for a week or two. I can't really see it." Lily admitted.

"Mother, dear, her name is Lily." Snape hissed across the table.

"I know, but Lillian is the name of a girl. She is not quite a woman yet, Sevvy-wevvy." His mother answered, pinching his yellowy cheek.

Jackie giggled enough so that Arabella felt she didn't need to.

"Well, ya'll, ready for the ball tomorrow evenin'?" James asked animatedly. Mr. Snape gave him an odd look.

"Of course we're ready- Society is always ready, Mr. Pottare." Mrs. Snape said. Lily nodded and sipped her soup.

"You guys like ducks?" Sirius said, then clamped his hand over his mouth.

"What?" Mr. Snape asked, making his w very, very annunciated. 

"Never mind Gary Stu, he's a little wacko upstairs." Jackie said, tapping her forehead.

"Ohhhhhh." Mr. and Mrs. Snape chorused.

Jackie rushed into the ballroom, and stopped as the orchestra practiced. It was beautiful.

There were two sets of spiraling stairs on either side of the ballroom, the ceiling was both for the first and the second floor with a grand crystal and gold chandelier (three tiers, she counted, fifty-two light bulbs) and the banisters were made of fine wood and connected by gilded gold that looked like a lace pattern (on the plastered walls and ceiling was the same pattern) and the room was filled with very wide, long mirrors, highly molded with leaves and roses. The platform for the orchestra had red velvet carpeting, as did the staircases and the second floor (if one stood near the circling opening to the first floor, you could bend over the railing and spit, according to Sirius). The same gilded gold lace pattern and mirrors that filled the first floor were also on this floor, and there were candelabras on both floors, sending a soft glow around the room. At the end of the second night, a beautiful, light mist was to be sent out on the ballroom floor.

"This is so beautiful.." She murmured. She closed her eyes and slowly spun around, feeling second by second the silk and velvets flow onto her, the tiara and jewelry on her, the music echoing in her ears. She was a princess, and, just for that moment, she was Lily.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Came Sirius's normal voice.

"Yes." She gasped as her eyelids flew open. All of a sudden the silks and diamonds were gone and she was plain Jackie again. "I don't know why Lily hides from this."

"First of all, it is more than just the gilded surface. Second of all, I wasn't talking about the ballroom." He said, saying the last part as a whisper. His head was down and he slowly strode to her.

"Oh." Jackie whispered, nodding her head and moving backwards as he moved towards her. She bumped into the end of the stair rail.

Sirius leaned his head in, when Arabella came running out. Sirius jumped away from Jackie and Jackie herself tripped over a step.

Arabella raised her eyebrows at Jackie and mouthed something to Sirius, but then began to speak normally. "There's something wrong in the kitchens."

Sirius departed quickly and Arabella stared pointedly at Jackie, then left. For the first time, Jackie felt that there was a guy hanging around her because she was her. I mean, her hair was messy and flying about everywhere, her clothes dirty and wrinkled, and he called her beautiful. It wasn't because Lily was there, it was because for the first time, Jackie was herself.

Jackie decided on red for that night, it brought out her hair. Plus, it was Sirius's favorite color. She selected a floor-length red cocktail dress, strapless and sparkly, with matching stilettos. Her room (she had selected it) was almost exactly like the ballroom; there were mirrors, plaster, candelabras and red velvet. Arabella rushed in again and handed her something.

"This is going to make that dress a knock-out." Arabella whispered excitedly. She had a pair of red gloves, very shiny, and a diamond wristlet (though Arabella later admitted it was just very clever craftwork), a matching necklace and matching earrings. Arabella rushed out as soon as she closed the earrings in Jackie's hands.

Jackie put those earrings on carefully, slowly added the necklace, then the gloves, then the wristlet. When she finished pinning up her hair (Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, just the hair and the gloves/wristlet, but think red gloves) she looked at one of the mirrors were there was a million of one candelabra, and she gasped.

Her lightly browned skin glowed naturally, her annoying (or so she believed) six freckles that dotted her nose, faded into her face, her eyes, deep brown, snapped with pleasure, her lips, a dark pink, shined under the light of the room. Her teeth were solid and white and she flashed the mirror a smile.

She lifted her chin and turned around slowly, catching her reflection in several mirrors.

"Oh my god!" Arabella came in, screaming.She wore a lavender ball gown, soft and lightly shiny." You won't believe what just happened!" She paused. "You look great! But it's all wasted."

"WHAT?" Jackie nearly screamed. Her two years of training with Lily kept her from breaking down and crying.

"James caught Lily from jumping off the balcony!" Arabella nearly shrieked. "Not even Claire knows. James told Sirius and Sirius was going to tell you, but I overheard and I got to you first." She said with almost all her breath running out.

Jackie lost all of her princess feel. The second time of the night she went back from royalty to Jackie.

A knock came at the door. Arabella squealed as quietly as she could and hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. "That's Sirius." She managed to whisper.

Jackie returned to her composure. "Come in."

Sirius had had his hair almost perfect (a middle part in his chili-bowl), except a gelled strand got into his eyes. He was putting on his cufflinks (silver and sapphires, James's, Jackie noted) as calmly as he could.

"Lily tried to jump tonight. James caught her." Sirius whispered. "You look great." At that point, he began to break down and cry

Jackie led him over to sit down on her bed. She put her arm around his shoulder and soon he was crying into her shoulders. She whispered and cooed, "Sh, sh, it's alright now. It's alright now." 

Arabella climbed out the bathroom window and snuck into the next bedroom (James's) and met Lily and James there.

"Worked brilliantly." Arabella said, and the three congratulated themselves. Lily had just found out that her friends were pretending to be party planners, but she still wasn't going back downstairs.

"I better go. I know that Claire will be coming to visit me soon. Bella, want to join me to back up my story?" She said quietly, still wearing the robe she had worn to dinner. Arabella nodded and followed Lily out of the room.

"If I can be such a great matchmaker to other people, why can't it work in my own love life?" James asked himself in his head as he watched them go.

Severus Snape paced around in his room. Lucius came running in. "She's just sick. Allergic to the shellfish we had earlier."

"How do I look?" Severus asked Lucius. Lucius brushed Severus's tuxedo arms off, adjusted his cufflinks and handed him the present Severus had planned to give her at dinner. It was wrapped in a two-tone silver paper, with swirling, mesmerizing patterns.

"You're good to go. Good luck, Sev." Lucius said, regretting he was telling his best friend this, the one that was going to marry a Mudblood.

"Thanks, Lu." Severus said, heading out the open door.

Lily heard the door open slightly and Arabella (in her disguise and her odd new accent) came in, announcing "Master Snape".

Lily turned on her dressing room stool, trying to look as pale as possible.

"I'm so sorry to hear you won't be coming down tonight. The party planners are rescheduling, I believe." Severus said stuffily. He was trying his best to be nice.

"That's nice." Lily said insincerely. 

"I know, Lily, that you do not truly want to get married to anyone right now," Severus began, but Lily had other thoughts. _I do want to get married, to get out of Claire's way. I just don't want to get married to you. I want to marry-_ "But I hope, as a friend, you'll be able to accept this gift."

At the word gift, Lily suddenly became aware of the light, thin chain holding the heavy golden locket on her neck. She could see the tiny rubies sparkle in the candlelight (there were two candles on either side of the dressing table and that was it) and the gold glimmer. She turned back to him.

"I can, it is only polite." She said quietly. He handed her a gift.

She ripped open the paper softly and slowly. Flap by flap, tape piece by tape piece. Eventually she got down to the blue velvet box and she folded the paper back up and put it on the marble counter next to her.

She lifted the lid of the blue velvet box (which was not very wide, but rather long). She gasped.

"It's like a mini-Mirror of Erised. Only one person can look at it at a time, your true desires never revealed. I wished I had gotten a bigger one, maybe then I could give you what you want." He said. _You couldn't give me him.._

The hand mirror was gold, and the handle had a vine of lilies and leaves, gilded highly. And on the back, there was a huge lily with circlets of vines surrounding it.

"Oh, Severus.." She murmured.

"I know, it's beautiful. It completely reminds me of the presence you have here, a society lily."

_Idiot! Lilies don't grow in society- They're all made of silk and perfume!_

"Thank you, Severus." She said formally. In her tone, she dismissed him like a bad puppy.

"I'll see you as soon as you recover." He said. "It's not contagious, is it?"

_Allergies to shellfish being contagious? You are so naive and gullible, Severus, you'll be eaten alive in the real world. I know you're not at fault, but you are starting to annoy me._

Lily looked into the mirror as he left. She saw the back of a woman in a wedding dress, her silk veil being lifted over her head. A peep of red hair and she was leaning into a kiss, she would see her husband soon, her left green eye winked at Lily, who nearly dropped the mirror. Lily was about to see who her husband was going to be, what her heart truly wanted, but a knock at the door slammed the brakes on her unreality joy ride.

"Come in." She said towards the door, placing the mirror face down on the white marble counter.

_Lilies don't grow in society- How true, yet it took you so long to discover it. What an idiot you are, Lily. The mirror can't tell you what your heart wants. Your heart doesn't know yet._

A/N: Sorry the other chapters were so short, but this one is alright, right?


	21. Perfection Is The Goal. Seduction Is Its...

Sirius looked up from the spot he was crying at. Why was he crying? In his heart he knew that Lily hadn't really jumped, he had overheard the plans to set him and Jackie up. But, somehow, it felt safe in Jackie's arms- But he knew it wasn't enough.

"Meet me in the ballroom in fifteen minutes." He whispered softly in her ear. Jackie froze as he got up to leave. What had happened to Sirius? First he had complimented her when she didn't even look or feel good, then he had just cried, seriously cried in her arms, which made no sense at all; Sirius didn't cry. And now what?

"What the hell is James doing? Why did he drag them here? Why is he doing this?" Lily asked herself as she blew out one of the candles. Her visitor had just been a delivery man- Flowers, lilies. Silk ones. From Severus.

Another knock came at her door. "Marie Eyyes, can you handle that?"

"I'm not a delivery man." Came a familiar, deep male voice.

"Come in, James." Lily said as she lighted the candle again.

"A little gloomy, isn't it?" He asked as he walked in. He was still dressed for a ball, his shirt collar was very messed up.

"I like to think in the dark. Come here, you've messed up your collar." Lily said. "And that _hair_!"

"I like my hair!" James protested, but he came closer. Lily stood on her tiptoes and straightened his collar, then began to run a few fingers through his hair. One time she got irritated with this one hair that kept sticking up in the back, and licked two of her fingers and patted it down. James took one look in the mirror and shook out her handiwork.

"Oh, well. I tried." Lily said with a fake exasperated tone.

"Well, Madame Aevans, your hair ain't that much better." James commented.

Lily looked in the mirror. It had flyaway strands, and it was a bit stringy tonight.

His large hands smoothed it out and a little cream on the counter put down the flyaway strands. "Now you are ready to be a society lily."

Lily gawked at him. "How did you know?"

"I've felt the same way. Not my dad, he's gone. My stepdad loves showing me off like I'm some sort of wind-up toy he was responsible for building. I've been reciting Latin to his colleagues since I was three, French since age two, Greek since I was five.."

"I get the point." Lily said. "Do you know what the Mirror of Erised is?"

James nodded. Lily picked up the mirror, where it had been sitting for about an hour or so, and showed it to him.

James sat down and looked into it. Like a little girl on her daddy's lap, Lily climbed on and leaned her head on his shoulder. Lily thought she was seeing what James wanted, but she was seeing her own true desire.

At the same time they found themselves looking at that wonderful time at the second ball, sliding down the banisters to be caught red-handed by the Minister of Magic from Norway. It had been their happiest time, and to say that your truest desire is something that already happened is a very hard thing to say. But they both knew they wanted to go back to the days before. And they both knew, if they died now, they would have been the happiest people alive.

Jackie picked up part of her train and walked down the stairs, hearing strains of music and watching a soft glow suddenly feel the room. She stood frozen on the second-to-last step as she watched Sirius chew out the conductor.

"No, no, no! That's not right! Everything has to be perfect! Perfect, I tell you!" He shouted. "You there! On the violin! YOU SUCK!! Jackie will not be satisfied with just a very bad playing of Minuet In G! Too slow! How about Minuet In G Minor? Okay, got it! Just wait until Jackie comes then strike up the orchestra." 

Sirius turned around and saw Jackie standing there. He rushed up to the bottom step. "Announcing her royal highness, the Duchess of Gryffindor, from the noble country of Hogwarts!"

He then rushed about twenty feet from the bottom step. "Why, Duchess, how lovely you look tonight? May I ask the blessing of a dance with you?"

Jackie smiled silently. 

"You're supposed to say, why of course, Duke of Gryffindor, I would be pleased. You are looking mighty spiffy yourself."

Jackie restrained her giggle. "Why, of course, Duke of Gryffindor, I would be pleased. You are looking mighty spif.." She began, but burst out into giggles. Sirius looked hurt.

"Okay, okay. You are looking mighty (giggle) spiffy (giggle) yourself." Jackie said, dropping her train and offering her left gloved hand. Sirius kissed it, then put it on the inside of his right arm.

"You're a good dancer." Jackie said as the two made circles around the ballroom, not realizing that the strains of music were reaching the tender ears of Arabella, James and Lily.

"Thank you very much." Sirius said smugly.

"You're supposed to say, why, Duchess, you are a mighty spiffy dancer yourself." Jackie commented, as if disgusted that he hadn't said anything without a reminder.

"Spiffy doesn't work as an adjective for dancing." Sirius pointed out.

"Yes it does."

"Nope."

"Uh-huh!"

"No way in hell."

"WHAT?"

"N O (space) W A Y (space) I N (space) H E L L." 

"W H A T?"

Lily, Arabella and James crept out to the circular opening on the second floor that showed you the ballroom. Lily held back her giggle at what she saw.

Sirius and Jackie, as polite and formal as they could be, were arguing through gritted teeth and plastered smiles as they danced around the room.

James put his arm around Arabella's shoulder and around Lily's waist. "Amazing what we can do when we get along, huh?"

"And it's 5-6-7-8... Left hand on hip, you're sitting on your left leg, your right leg is popped out, bending, right arm up in the air with your index finger out... That's 1-2, skate 3-4, and for 5-6-7-8, you're gonna sort of pop your hips and your knees to the beat and left hand on hip, right arm moving across your circle, with your index finger out. Left leg back, sort of be relevating up and down as you snap. Cross, open, cross, open, cross, open, cross, open." Arabella called out in her French accent. Lily, Jackie and Arabella were discoing for a work-out (A/N: It is a work-out, if you're choreographing a number from Saturday Night Fever, trust me).

"Okay, Gary Stu, hit it! Girls, wait for the first 'Night Fever'.. A 5-6, A 5-6-7-8.." Arabella called out through the dance studio, and the Bee Gee's 'Night Fever' chorus played out for the girls, who did it all so well.

"Now, then.. We've got the grapevine, or sort of, right step, left back, right step left together, clap.. Then left step back, right cross so back is to audience, then cross left so you're facing the audience, bring right to left and clap."

"Okay, now add, hussle arms plus right foot out, right foot in, that's 1-2.. Then funky-chicken your way through 3-4. Left foot out, hussle arms, left foot in 5-6, funky-chicken 7-8." Arabella shouted as the door opened.

Severus Snape leaned in the doorway, watching the girls go through the chorus. James opened the other door and leaned in that doorway. Lily caught a glimpse of them in the mirror as she went through her post-grapevine spin, and stopped.

"Ah, Master Snape and Mister Pottare! Why don't we go from the top. Gary Stu?" Arabella said again. "5-6-7-8.."

_ _

_Listen to the ground:_

_there is movement all around._

_There is something goin' down_

_and I can feel it._

The girls rolled their heads, cracked their knuckles, and basically got ready for the upcoming dance.

_ _

_On the waves of the air,_

_there is dancin' out there._

_If it's somethin' we can share,_

_we can steal it._

_ _

Sirius watched Jackie glow with pleasure, with the satisfaction you didn't see on her face on a normal day. She stood out just as she had when she was imagining the ball preparations were for her, when she ascended the stairs, confident and radiant, perfect.

_And that sweet city woman,_

_she moves through the light,_

_controlling my mind and my soul._

When you reach out for me 

_yeah, and the feelin' is bright,_

_ _

Right then as the lights flickered and Lily's image became like a negative photo, James remembered the night of disco-dancing and roller skating at a local spot, remembered how the light caught her hair, and the sparks reflected in her eyes. At least then, he would have that personal memory that no other guy or friend of hers could ever say they had.

_then I get night fever, night fever._

_We know how to do it._

_Gimme that night fever, night fever._

_We know how to show it._

_ _

The girls had danced at the first 'night fever'. Lily smiled and charmed her audience behind her, and had this energy that really reflected in the dancing. The dancing itself wasn't that complicated, but she had brought it to its full potential. She stood out in the front, with Arabella diagonally behind her at the left, Jackie diagonally behind her at the right, it was kind of cool, watching not them, but their reflections.

_ _

_Here I am,_

_prayin' for this moment to last,_

_livin' on the music so fine,_

_borne on the wind,_

_makin' it mine._

_ _

Lucius stumbled in and ended up trying to see. Behind that J.J. Pottare and his friend Severus, he had barely a view. But what a good view it was.. Focal points were at the gluteus maximus area of a certain "Marie Eyyes".

_Night fever, night fever._

_We know how to do it._

_Gimme that night fever, night fever._

_We know how to show it._

_ _

Lily felt her heart beat and the endorphins flowing through her. This was the happiest kind of moment, she supposed. Dancing with your friends, showing off all those millions of months of dance school and annoying primadonas (the bitchy kind).

_In the heat of our love,_

_don't need no help for us to make it._

_Gimme just enough to take us to the mornin'._

_I got fire in my mind._

_I got higher in my walkin'._

_And I'm glowin' in the dark;_

_I give you warnin'._

_ _

Composure and the two years of aloof ice-queen sort of faded as Lily and Jackie messed up and the giggles and snorts came. Well, Lily wasn't an ice-queen, she just appeared like that. Kept people away, she said. People were dangerous, she said. Arabella had liked her because she sticked up for her rights and for people who couldn't help themselves. Jackie had liked her because she had been one of those people Lily had helped. Sirius and Remus had caught her playing a prank on Professor Binns, and they had liked her, but what was it about that pulsing rhythm, that fantastic beat, what was it that undid two years of hard work? Severus couldn't stand watching this girl too long, he knew she didn't love him. Lucius was hesitant, after all, there was a nice view, but he followed his friend.

_And that sweet city woman,_

_she moves through the light,_

_controlling my mind and my soul._

When you reach out for me 

_yeah, and the feelin' is bright,_

"Ye-ah! Hell yeah!!!" Lily shouted once she finally got the combination right. "I need a night feever, night fee-veher! We know how to do it!! WOO!" She sang at the top of her lungs.

Sirius simply shook his head as Lily began to bounce around the room. He was across the room from James's reflection, but he caught James's eye.

And winked.

_ _


	22. A Change of Heart, A Change of Pace

Lily slipped away from Arabella and Claire long enough to sit at a certain point of the stairs, letting her legs dangle ove

Lily slipped away from Arabella and Claire long enough to sit at a certain point of the stairs, letting her legs dangle over the edge.

It was chaos down there. Chefs were lifting their wondrous creations high above their heads to avoid letting those beautiful creations be smashed by the passing people. Sirius was following them, ducking and whirling, basically avoiding anybody but the chefs, checking which delicacies were there on the banquet table in the next room. She could hear the orchestra practicing, the baby grand was out of tune. She could hear Jackie directing the decorators, and according to "Marie" her "beloved" fiancée was in his quarters, already preparing for the night.

James came walking, very quickly, into the lobby. One of the chefs was bothering him about the cake he had made.

"THAT IS OBSCENE, Monsieur. I know, you graduated from the Cordon Bleu! I am not changing my judgments. Cover up that chest and we'll all be fine." James was saying in his southern voice. The chef opened his mouth. "Or no pay.""

The chef marched out of the marble lobby with his cake in a huff.

Lily giggled. James looked up at her and gave her a wink and then left.

Lily sort of froze in time. She watched James leave and fingered with her locket, the music of the next room echoing. It was nice, being able to sit by yourself and think without any distractions whatsoever-

"LILY EVANS!!!!!!!" Claire shrieked. Claire spotted a redhead down at the check-in counter, but truly, Lily restrained her giggles as Claire marched down the stairs- With a buzz cut.

Claire grabbed the redhead by the ear, to find, in horror, that it was none other than the Duchess of York.

Lily made her getaway then.

Lunch was not easy. Sirius showed everyone his version of Night Fever, as Gary Stu, with invisible music and escargot on his shoes. Lily rubbed her temples and Arabella hid her face in her hands. Jackie, oddly enough, was laughing very, very hard. James shook his head, but tried his best to continue eating quietly. The glue on his fake mustache was falling off, so he quickly excused himself from the table.

Severus Snape gaped in horror as what's-his-name relived every disco move ever invented. His parents had already fainted, and Lucius was snorting very, very loudly, though, at the same time, trying to look cool and suave for Marie. He was failing miserably.

"Mrs.MarieMalfoy." He penned slowly on his napkin, unaware he was reading aloud. "Perfect."

Arabella looked ready to kill.

"Eww.. Pink." Lily muttered as she looked at the two dresses lying out on the bed. One was bright, violent pink and the other was a lacy, virginal white. She grabbed the lacy one quickly.

As soon as she was done, a knock came at the door. It was James, with a bouquet of flowers. She began to squeal, but he put his hand up.

"Your darling Severus seems to think I am his lackey. They're having cocktails in the ballroom. Care to have a last slide?" He asked, at first irritably, but now he had a cheeriness about him butterbeer couldn't duplicate.

"Of course.. And he isn't my darling Severus.. He's Snape, and that he shall remain." She snapped. His mustache was drooping, but she didn't notice that.

"I can completely imagine you giving birth to (wince) little Severus screaming 'SNAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPEEEE'!" He joked. She laughed quietly.

"Shall we?" He asked in his new American voice, offering his arm. She took it gratefully.

The two listened a minute for the Minuet In G Minor to begin playing, and to the beat of the music, moved towards the staircase. James went first, as always, not remembering his American accent or the fact that the staircase had just been polished.

Lucius Malfoy heard a swift swoosh and a defiant crash, then a shriek and a few giggles. Then, closely listening, he heard stomping up the stairs.

Claire Evans looked around the ballroom, slightly drunk. Her stepdaughter, whose presence was the reason for celebration, was not present in the least. She followed a suspicious Lucius Malfoy and her stepdaughter's fiancée-to-be, that Snape fellow, into the lobby.

James had his back to the opening into the ballroom, his once-shiny tailcoat dulled down by this sort of darkish-brown furniture polish, and Lily came swooping down. She was happy at first, but she spotted her stepmother, fiancée, and fiancée's best friend marching in. Her look of horror received a very low reaction.

"Don't worry, Lils, it'll be alright. I'll catch you." James said in his normal voice, his mustache completely coming off now, and she made short little shrieks as he spun her around, halfway, when he saw Severus, Lucius and Claire. He put Lily down lightly, whose hands immediately flew to the back of the white dress, which was now covered in darkish-brown furniture polish.

"POTTER!" Lucius and Severus chorused angrily. Claire looked confused for a moment, then shrieked at Lily for ruining her dress. Malfoy and Snape could see who he was with his normal voice and his disguise gone.

"Potter, you and that Black fellow have NOT been invited to my engagement party." Snape began, as guests began to file in around him. Jackie placed her hand worriedly on Sirius's inner arm to hold him back. "Get out of my sight and do not return."

"First of all, this is not YOUR engagement party. It's Lily's. Second, we're her friends. Third and most important, you aren't engaged to her. She hasn't decided to marry you." James spat.

"Yet." Snape said rudely. Lily stood there helplessly. "You, Lupin and Black get out of my sight. Were those girls involved?"

Sirius was about to agree, but James opened his mouth. "No, they are party planners we hired to do the dirty work for our cover. You can never keep us out of your 'engagement' party unless it's in France."

Remus smirked in the back of the room. There was an excellent cover for Jackie and Arabella to stay by Lily's side.

"Well, you know what, Mister Potter?" Claire spewed. "Her decision party will be at the finest magical hotel in Paris! You may get out promptly before I call the police."

Sirius left Jackie and he and Remus followed James so they could go pack their bags. Jackie was surprised that they had given up so easily. However, knowing the Marauders like she did, they probably had another evil scheme in store.

Snape grabbed Lily by her bare upper arm. "What the hell do you think you were doing?" He hissed.

"He's my friend Sn- Severus. I invited him, but, I knew you wouldn't accept his help unless it was in another form!" She hissed back.

"I'm sorry, Lily." He said quietly, poking out his lower lip. He began to dance with her, and she forced herself to smile and join him.

"Now, Princess, I hope you've made a decision _already_. I know it's a bit early.." Snape began as he nodded at some old lady trying to look fashionable. Oh, wait, that was Claire.

"What did you just call me?" She asked in a low, dangerous whisper.

"Princess, don't make a scene." Snape cooed, completely unaware of his mistake.

"Don't call me Princess." She said through her big, toothy smile.

"WHAT? Now you're going to protect the nickname he gave you? Don't think I don't know what he called you when you two were.." He almost snapped.

She stopped dancing and brought herself to full height. "For your information, _Master Snape_." She began, spitting the words and pausing. "Not only did your beloved _Master Potter_ give me that nickname, my dead parents did too. You have no rights to the name whatsoever. I would prefer it if you would not refer to me as _Princess_ if you are attached to the habit of living."

She left the room in a huff, though the instant she reached her room, after locking her door and her windows, she collapsed, her back to the door, crying.


	23. Dirty Laundry Revealed, Not Literally, S...

In a matter of days, the entire Evans/Snape affair had been moved to France

In a matter of days, the entire Evans/Snape affair had been moved to France. And Rafe, Sirius, Remus, James, Peter, Ronan and Munguldus were hot on their trail.

"Okay, Sirius. Know any French?" James asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. They had spent a whole lot of their money on just getting to Paris, and there they stood, facing the Eiffel Tower, almost broke and owning only the clothes on their backs.

"He knows one phrase." Remus said with a groan.

"Voulez vous se couche avec moi, c'est soir.." James and Rafe murmured at the same time. Sirius nodded exuberantly.

"Thank you, Patti LaBelle!!!" He said at the top of his lungs. Munguldus groaned.

"How exactly is that going to help us?" Ronan asked. Sirius looked at him like he was from Jupiter.

"How exactly is that going to help us?!? Ronan, my friend, that is the absolutely best thing the French ever thought of!" Sirius exclaimed. "All except for letting Veelas in.." 

Sirius trailed off as he saw this pretty brunette pass by. He snapped back into reality, murmuring something like 'Jackie' and they continued to walk across the lawn.

On the other side of the Eiffel Tower, an unhappy redhead was preparing for her big decision.

"Well, dear. Purple dress, yellow dress, lime green dress, white dress, orange dress, sky blue dress, leopard print dress or light green dress?" Claire asked as unmotherly as possible. Lily grunted.

"That means, Madame Aevans, that she wants the lime green dress." Arabella added as she prompted Lily to sit up.

"Lime green? That color is sooo wrong for you, sweetie. We'll give you the sky blue dress." Claire said. Lily sat up with a huff as Jackie began to work on her hair. Arabella tried to put the locket around her neck, but the clasp wasn't working. Arabella tried to open it as well, but the locket was stuck shut.

"I am going over to Cartier's to get this locket fixed, Madame Aevans." Arabella said.

"Lily, darling, put this on. Your bridesmaids will be here soon." Claire said as she carelessly tossed the sky blue Coco Chanel dress to Lily.

"Who are my bridesmaids if I'm not a bride?" Lily wondered aloud, still very grumpy. Jackie pulled the dress over Lily's head, adjusting the boatneck collar, and smoothing out the full skirt.

"Why, dear, of course they'd be your good friends Sue-Ann and Mary-Pickens." Claire said with a false laugh. "Put these on."

Jackie pulled the short little white kid gloves onto Lily's delicate hands. She admired the pattern on the silk sky blue dress. It had medium-sized white dots all over it, and the top of the dress looked like a boatneck blouse tucked in elegantly into the full skirt.

"Sue-Ann and Mary-Pickens? Those ditzy debs?" Lily protested as Claire handed Jackie a wide-brimmed white straw hat with a wide bolt of silk tied around it with a big bow, matching Lily's dress.

"Those ditzy debs happen to be the daughters of my close friends. Or rather, their stepdaughters. Be polite." Claire said cheerily. "You're going to be married by the end of the school year and you'll never have to have your nose stuck in a book again!"

"For your information, Claire," Lily began, raising her voice just a bit as she put on some light-shiny-pinkish pantyhose, "I happen to love schooling."

"See what we have to teach her, Jackie-Lyn?" Claire said with a giggle. Jackie grunted, her mouth full of pins. "My darling stepdaughter, you'll love being married."

Lily groaned as Jackie tried to put the white shiny pumps on Lily's feet, but Lily refused to let her do it. "I am not a baby, you know!"

Claire giggled again and handed her a little silk handbag matching her dress. As she left the room, Claire said this with the slam of the door. "Knock 'em dead, sweetheart!"

"I AM NOT YOUR SWEETHEART!" Lily yelled after her, but was quickly silenced with a cookie.

"Mind you, that's the last snack you're to have in-between meals." Jackie snapped. Lily understood that Claire was getting under her skin, but she was the one who came on her own terms, wasn't she?

"Lillian, darling, you have a visitor." Claire called through the door. "A Sarah Barnes, I might add."

Lily groaned. This was just what she needed, looking like a high society airhead when her greatest school rival was visiting.

The blonde came in crying, her magnificent head shaking. "I am so glad you don't love James, I thought I'd have to hate you more. Severus is such a dear. He has prevented you from having a broken heart. James would have hurt you so, I am glad he didn't pull through with the plan, in a way. It would do me no good if my greatest rival was ruined, no good at all. I should have told him. No, James, you can't break Lily's heart. You can't confide in me. I am so glad he can't pull through with it, Lily. Ever so glad." The blonde girl said, leaving Lily speechless and Jackie comforting her.

Jackie escorted the blonde Ravenclaw out of the room and left Lily to get the angriest she had ever been. It did not matter that she had planned the same fatality to James as well, all that mattered is that he would dare to ever think of breaking Lily Evans's heart.

"Lillian, darling, we have a garden party to attend!!" Claire's voice rang through Lily's boudoir. Lily groaned again and picked up the little handbag. "Jackie-Lyn, you will send her visitors over to the nice little cafe on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower, mind. And only give them the location if they look the suitable sort."

"Lillian! We haven't seen you in ever so long! Last summer I believe, before you went off to that British charm school?" Sue-Ann asked as she sat down. Both Sue-Ann and Mary-Pickens had shrill Southern accents. Their stepmothers were the gold digger type, living out on huge plantations in the south of the U.S somewhere, like Shadow Grove, Louisiana.

Lily gritted her teeth. Charm school? Hah. She had aced that course many years ago. "Yes, I am to return after Christmas holiday."

"Engaged, we hope." Mary-Pickens said with a shrill giggle. Sue-Ann joined in and Claire left one of the chaperones with the girls as she and her friends went off to shop.

"Yes, yes, I am going to the chapel of love hopefully." Lily said icily, sipping her tea. The girls didn't hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"What's his name, anyway. Not that it matters. We just want to know who to add the Mrs to." Sue-Ann began, stuffing a tea cake in her mouth. Now that Lily noticed, Sue-Ann was only going to get a husband on her dowry and a prenuptial agreement. She had these thin, mud brown curls that stuck to the sides of her face, and she was chunky, annoying, and covered in hives. "Mrs. sounds like a lovely title."

"His name is Severus Snape. He attends the boys' military school near our grounds. Very prominent and rich, but his family keeps a low profile. A very low profile." Lily lied as she nibbled quietly at the last tea cake.

"Mrs. Severus Snape.." Mary-Pickens began dreamily. Lily flinched unnoticeably. "Sounds like a dream title. Does he have a brother?"

Lily thought about it a moment. She didn't really know, but Mary-Pickens was another one counting on her dowry and a prenuptial agreement. She, in contrast to Sue-Ann, was a blonde, skinny as a toothpick and not nearly as curved as Sue-Ann. Her face was wide, her nose sharp, and her eyes beady. She had this little mouth that could use a single tube of lipstick in seven years, if applied three times daily. Her hair was failing to look like the beehive she had it in, looking more like a limp, soggy piece of cabbage that had turned yellow.

"I don't believe so. But, you'll probably be able to find out at the wedding. He has a bunch of friends that are much, much richer." Lily said, making her voice hopeful. Maybe she would at least torture Avery with the possibility of him having to marry either Sue-Ann or Mary-Pickens.

"My dear Lillian, how are you this fine morning? Why on earth would you be in Paris? I thought you were still in London, enjoying Buckingham Palace!" Exclaimed an overly posh British voice. Rafe stood five feet away, with his entourage of boys behind him, this time including Peter.

"Rafael!" Lily exclaimed. "I thought you were still at Eton, on that Spanish scholarship.. I believe your phrase of the week is _Ustedes es Muggles_!"

Rafe caught on quickly as Lily pointedly looked at Sue-Ann and Mary-Pickens. "No, no, no.. There is some big betrothal banquet in town that my mother is forcing me to attend, so we are here, at least enjoying Paris until tonight. Lovely seeing you again, my dear."

The boys walked over to another table and Sue-Ann led Mary-Pickens in giggles.

"Lillian, darling.. Is that an old, uh.." Sue-Ann began to giggle again. "Beau of yours?"

"No, not at all, Sue-Ann! He was among the group that sat with me at this banquet our schools attended, with the Queen of Gryffindor, this foreign rich country, as the guest of honor. One of them is His Excellency her nephew, a junior ambassador, born to Britain." Lily said in a very grand voice, knowing all the names she dropped would be enough for the tabloids of debs to be raving for weeks. She sipped her tea again. "Pass the petit fours, will you?"

Rafe stood nervously, crossing his fingers behind his back. Sue-Ann would be rushing out any moment to tell him Lily's verdict. She had looked wonderful tonight, in a fine creation of blue gauze and chiffon. She wasn't wearing James's locket, though.. Arabella said it was being fixed.

"Oh, Rafael! Congratulate me! I am going to be a bridesmaid!!!" Sue-Ann rang happily. Rafe and the guys hidden in the shadows dropped their jaws. And James Potter's heart broke into pieces.


	24. An Interlude of Furry Cookies Named Snup...

"Have you seen the ring

"Have you seen the ring?"

"It's huge!"

"It's from Cartier's."

"Wouldn't it be a waste if she didn't say yes?"

"She's a waste on him."

"Minnie!"

"It's true, and you know it. But what about that necklace?"

"The rubies glisten in the most gorgeous way."

"And set in such gold!"

Minnie Moose and Daisy Duke, both Hufflepuffs in their own right, set straight to work on the little patch of herbs for the hospital wing as they gossiped away about the locket that Lily wore and the ring it upstaged.

The ring was set in platinum, with a lily made of perhaps thirty-five seven-carat diamonds (as part of the prenuptial agreement Claire cooked up, Lily would keep the ring no matter what) and it twinkled under the natural sunlight flowing through the greenhouse. 

All four classes united under this class, and not only was Lily surrounded by her own friends, Jackie and Arabella, and a few chums from Ravenclaw, a group of Slytherin boys, headed by Snape, were also attending to her. Snape was even handling her herb bowl, so she wouldn't get her ring dirty, but she paid him no mind. She didn't seem to be paying attention to anything, just sitting there, smiling and looking pretty.

James sat on the other side of the room, grinding his Teryifis into powder fine enough to become makeup, and pretending not to hear when Lily said hello to him as she passed. He hadn't even looked up to see that her face looked momentarily hurt.

Sirius, though completely unhappy that Lily had even thought of accepting Snape's proposal, was singing and dancing to the invisible music of 'Lady Marmalade' (Patti LaBelle version) in his chair. He shut his eyes and sang the strongest note with not so much as a little waver.

Remus was actually paying attention to his assignment. As hard as it was, Remus concentrated and completed his masterpiece- Not the crushed and pasted herbs he was supposed to prepare, but a magnificent herb-machete figurine of Snape dieing.

Peter was allergic to the scent of Teryifis. In this order, Peter

  1. Sprouted bunny ears.
  2. The bunny ears turned pink.
  3. Broke out into hives.
  4. Started sneezing uncontrollably.
  5. Gained whiskers.
  6. Had a little fluffy tail poking out of his trousers.
  7. Began to belch and sneeze simultaneously.

What did Teryifis do? It was part of a potion that turned someone into a bunny.

Rafe found out that, very rarely, did Lily walk with an entourage that's number was less than fifteen. He finally tracked her down at the portrait of the Gray Lady, where she was saying goodbye to a bunch of Ravenclaw friends, who entered their portrait hole happily.

"Lily!" He called before she could catch up with her Hufflepuff friends- She would be worn out with gossip if she continued her path.

She turned and smiled. As she walked closer to him, Rafe could see her hug her books closer to her chest.

"Hey! What were you doing in Paris?" She questioned politely. Her eyes were wide and her fingers were fiddling with something on her sweater.

"Nothing in particular. You?" Rafe was struggling for casual conversation. At this very moment there was a prank being played in the Slytherin Common Room and Lily couldn't be anywhere near it.

"I, um, the Gryffindor Quidditch team won't have a manager next year, Rafe. She'll be married." Lily said finally. "God, most people would think letting a secret like that out would be relieving. It's not."

"Oh.." Rafe said, way too casually for Lily not to get suspicious. "Who to?"

Lily blushed a bit, but not in the happy, I'm-so-in-love blush. It was a blush of true and utter embarrassment, the type that one got when someone offended your mother. "Severus Snape." She said finally and quietly.

Silence. "So, er, was he the one that got you that locket?"

More silence. "Not really."

A silence so dead it was scary. "whose pictures are in there?"

Silence so dead it rotted. "Dunno. It won't open."

The rot began to smell. "Oh."

Behind Lily's back, Sirius quickly made an A-Okay sign, and then went back into hiding.

"Well, bye.." Rafe said quickly before disappearing around the corner. Lily stared at him, but shrugged it off and headed for the Common Room.

Things instantly returned to routine after Lily's engagement. Jackie and Arabella had a sofa moved not too far from Lily's chair, Sirius and Remus had their never-ending chess games, Peter would be struggling with his homework, the Quidditch team (or what remained of them) would be plotting, and James would be sitting and thinking. The rest had found the Common Room all too boring.

Not that that was hard. Everyone in the Common Room was completely wrapped up in what they were doing. It wasn't until Rafe actually punched him on the shoulder that James would look up from his target- The one he looked like he was trying to kill with his eyes. Lily.

"I know this may not seem obvious, because most of the girls here aren't too pushy or have boyfriends, but there are other fish in the Hogwarts lake. Take a look. There's a lot of variety." Rafe said reassuringly.

"Shove it, Rafe."

"It's better to have loved and have lost than to never have loved at all."

"Whoever wrote that was on crack."

"Does it hurt?"

"Bad, man."

Lily turned the page of her book. Romeo and Juliet. As unrealistic as Shakespeare was, it was always captivating to read about two people who would rather die for love than to live in society against their will.

"Think of ever getting your nose out of that book before your cookies grow fur and need to be named?" Asked a voice near her. She didn't look up.

"That took you a while, didn't it, Sirius?" She said as she scanned the page for the romantic part.

"Yes, and I am very proud of myself. May I suggest a name for the chocolate chip cookie?"

"Shoot."

"Snuppy Poo."

"Snuppy Poo?"

"I had another name, but I forgot it. So, Snuppy Poo."

Lily shook her head and turned another page. "Eat the cookies, Sirius."

"Yay!"


	25. Ideas That Don't Rub Lily The Right Way

Helen burst into the Common Room laughing and trying her best to read the message on a piece of parchment

Lily kept reading her book. She sat in those silk pajamas she had worn the first day James had returned. Her book must have been very, very boring, she kept yawning.

Helen burst into the Common Room, making everyone jump. Munguldus, Ronan and Rafe silently tiptoed upstairs, leaving everything behind. Sirius, Remus and Peter followed shortly. 

Helen was trying her best not to laugh as she loudly announced to the Common Room that Lily had to report to the hospital wing.. Her, "er, Severus, is in, uh.. A bit of an uncomfortable position..."

Lily didn't put her book down, she just walked all the way to the hospital wing with the book in front of her face, with Jackie, Arabella and Helen close behind her.

"As we entered the hospital wing, Lily still had her book in front of her nose. She sat down on the padded bench across from this bed surrounded by this thin curtain, and we joined her. As the curtains withdrew, Helen, Arabella and I refrained from laughing too hard. Snape called out to her, and her eyes flickered up from her book just for a second. She returned to her book, then it hit her. Snape was covered in this pink lumpy substance, completely. She hid her laughter behind her book, Sirius.. It was amusing.." Jackie whispered by the dieing fire. Sirius chuckled quietly, but she kept on snickering. A piece of her hair fell into her eyes. When she finally stopped, she sighed lightly and leaned back. Her body was warm against his. "I don't think she's laughed that hard since the time you accidentally dropped some acid into one of those exploding potions."

"I did not mean to do that!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling away from his spot on the armchair. Jackie nearly toppled to the ground. She laughed harder than ever.

"Sure you did, Sirius." She said softly, laughing again before kissing him. The two went on giggling and laughing by the dieing fire, and in the words of Munguldus Fletcher, it was quite 'romantical'.

James sat firmly on a stool at the bar at the Three Broomsticks, looking into the bottom of his butterbeer tank like it was a Pensive. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned.

It was Lily, dressed simply in a blue sweater and a pair of dark gray pants. Her hair was pulled away from her face, and she looked sweetly at him. "James, I know things between us have been a little shaky. The past few months have been very scary. But what happened in November was just a silly fling. A kiss, a few dates, we meant nothing to each other, right?"

She sat down next to him, looking up at his big blue eyes with her big green ones.

_Nothing. Yeah, Lil, you meant nothing to me. Nothing doesn't mean you can go off and marry some Death-Eater-to-be. _"Nothing, Lil."

She smiled. "Thank you, James. At least I can trust one of you will be mature. God, though, how on earth can some guy be covered in pink marshmallow chunks?"

James tried not to smile, but Lily noticed the ends of his mouth flicker. "That was you? How can you honestly be so.."

_Here it comes, James._ "CREATIVE? I would've loved to know how you did that!"

_Wow, she isn't as bad as you thought. **Well, duh, James, that's why you're pining for her.** Stupid subconscious._

"Well, maybe we can discuss it over dinner or something.." James whispered, leaning in.

Sirius and Jackie jumped apart as the portrait hole banged loudly. Lily dashed across the room, marching up the stairs to the girls' dormitories with a huff. She turned around and viciously snarled, "For your information, Mister Potter, we cannot. Perchance you haven't been blinded by the ring, here."

She thrust her hand into the light, blinding no one.

"Lily, I was **just** throwing it out there!" He whined as he followed her up a few steps, pleading with her.

"Well, _James_, you can certainly throw it back in!" She snapped, finding her dormitory and slamming the door in his face.

"That went better than I had hoped." James said after a few minutes, picking out a splinter in his cheek. Sirius and Jackie went back to, uh, what they were doing. Or tried.

"Scoot over, Jack. Sirius, what is wrong with girls today?" James asked as he squeezed himself between the unhappy couple. "Honestly, it's like they don't get a signal that there's emotions coming through."

"Yeah." Sirius said, leaning on the side of the chair. "It's like **they** can't get a signal that there's **emotions** coming through."


	26. He Loves Me.. He Loves Me Not.. He Loves...

You have been primly selected to attend the lovely engagement party 

_You have been primly selected to attend the lovely engagement party _

_of Mister Severus Snape and Miss Lily Evans. _

_You are cordially invited to attend the gorgeous luncheon at noon._

_On a sunny Sunday in April, April 21st. Tea will be served promptly afterwards, _

_And from there you will receive the wedding invitation. _

_Both events are being held in Napa, California, USA, at _

_Nicholas's Vineyard,_

_A particularly charming spot. _

_R.S.V.P by February 14th and we hope to see you there!_

**_ _**

"I heard the entire student body was invited! The wedding is supposed to be in summer!" Rowena squealed as she rushed to her class. James spun around to pick up one of the many pieces of lacy-patterned embossed papers that were flying around the school. After he speeded through the invitation, he clutched it to his heart and ran back to the Common Room.

"So, what are you doing over Easter holiday?" Lily asked Jackie casually as they walked to lunch.

Jackie looked at her like she was from Venus. "Where else, silly? I'm not going to leave you alone with _him_. It would be unfair. You know the only people who are going to show up is your stepmother's society friends, Death-Eaters-in-training or Hufflepuffs. _I'm_ going to stay loyal to you."

The last comment she had directed icily at Peter, who was afraid to go, losing his best friend. He quivered next to them.

"Anyway, what do we wear?" Jackie asked nicely, but her tone was soon turning to teasing. "Death Eater masks and opera gloves?"

Sirius ran into the Great Hall ahead of them and screamed his announcement.

"ANYBODY SEEN JAMES? HE HASN'T BEEN SEEN SINCE TRANSFIGURATION!!!!!!!" Sirius demanded as loudly as possible. A timid little first year Ravenclaw pointed out that he had been close to the portrait of the fat blonde lady in pink.

"Ravenclaws!" Sirius huffed as he headed to the Common Room. "Can't name the portraits but can name just about anything else... 'I'm from Ravenclaw and you have appendicitis and your common room entrance is.. Um, the fat blonde lady in pink?' Idiots."

"What's with him?" Lily asked Peter. Peter, mind you, is a horrible liar.

"Uh, um.. Er.. Yousee, hismumwroteabitofalettertohimtellinghimhiseldest,andonlybrothergotmarriedsohe'salittleupset."

"Huh?" Jackie asked. "Slower, please."

"Yousee,hismumwroteabitofalettertohimtellinghimhiseldest,andonlybrothergotmarriedsohe'salittleupset." Peter said, very, very slowly.

"What's the problem with that?" Jackie asked, puzzled.

"Jackie, your future in-laws include one brother-in-law, the eldest of ten children, and EIGHT sisters-in-law. Now, Sirius had one refuge at home. His brother. Now he's stuck with, 'Sirius, could you go get me a pack of Midol?'" Remus commented as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Remus served everyone a bit of spaghetti.

"Whatever. My in-laws are just major executives in the potions business..." Lily commented, and then she slurped her noodles.

"How lady-like." Remus muttered sarcastically.

"Thank you." Lily said, taking a bit of a bow.

"Girls." Peter muttered. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"Boys." Jackie muttered in turn. "Complain about PMS when they have something similar."

Remus and Lily laughed at their grumpy friends.

The Gryffindor locker room off the left side of the Quidditch field was a tense place at the moment. Rafe was muttering wildly to himself about all sorts of different things, consulting The Quidditch Captain's Handbook every five minutes. Ronan was pacing around the back of the room, saying all sorts of weird things, Munguldus and James were exchanging different strategies on broom-buying (how to get the best ones at the best price), Arabella and Sirius were playing a bit of one-on-one (which was quite dangerous, Sirius being a Beater), Jackie was discussing the finer points of the latest Quidditch games with Remus, and Lily was sitting alone in the corner, breezing through a magazine. James looked up a bit, excused himself from his conversation (Munguldus went to go talk with Jackie and Remus) and sat down behind Lily.

"Picking out a china pattern?" He teased with an aching heart. Lily shook her head.

"I'm reading the article, 'How to Knock Off Your Husband After He Wills Everything to You'. It's one of Claire's magazines. Care to read it?"

James chuckled, then pushed Lily downwards.

"What in bloody hell was that for?" She shrieked, but she soon found out. The space that would have been Lily and James's heads was being used as target practice for a Bludger. Lily crawled to a safer spot, James close behind her.

"Isn't that a BIT dangerous?" Lily yelled at Sirius. He shook his head with a wide grin. "Figures that the big baboon would do this some day. Want to go outside, anyone?"

The last word came as a bit of an after note, but several stood up. Munguldus, Jackie and Remus for example. Rafe could be engrossed in his book and still catch a Bludger without the least bit of pain, so he stayed. James followed Lily so he wouldn't be killed by Sirius's stray Bludgers (Sirius had a mighty fine collection started.)

"You really going to go through with it?" He asked her as she finished off her homework in the stands. (The one-on-one game turned into a two-on-two with Remus brushing up on his commentating.)

"With what? Getting away from Claire? Getting away from here? I don't know what you're talking about, but it's between those two topics for me." She said, still scribbling on her Charms homework.

"Can't you see you have it better here?" He protested. She looked up, and appraised him.

"Better for whom?" She said in a dangerously low voice. "I certainly am not having a great time being told off by, what should I call you, an ex-fling?"

"You're popular (grunt), pretty, (another grunt) smart, sophisticated, you've got a great position, a promising future, and you've got the eye of every untaken (and a few that are) guy here. Why throw it away for a guy you don't even like?" His eyes blazed with compassion and she found herself dieing to look away. Her body failed her.

Looking straight into his eyes, she said in a small voice, "Excuse me, Mister Potter, I am feeling quite ill."

As she got up to leave, James just groaned and left in the other direction.

Lily determinedly licked her lips as she wrote hard into a page on her diary, "James Potter still loves me, even after all that I've put him through....." 


	27. Pixie Sticks (Okay, There Are No Pixie S...

"Can you believe it is Easter holiday already

"Can you believe it is Easter holiday already?"

"You going to the engagement party?"

"Are you kidding? I begged my parents to go. It's like this big garden party, and plus, California has a whole bunch of aquariums. We're studying that in Muggle Studies."

Lily groaned, bringing the three girls' attention to her (rather than the hunky Ravenclaw specimen across the corridor). They looked at her, giggled behind their hands and walked off, batting their eyelashes at the Ravenclaw boy ("Hey! It's just hitting two birds with one stone!").

"Can you believe it is Easter holiday already?" Lily said in a high-pitched voice, twirling a lock of her hair. She stuck her tongue out at the girls' retreating backs, unaware that Jackie was merrily bouncing toward her.

"Can you **believe** it is Easter holiday already?" She chirped, causing Lily to groan again.

"Have you seen the dress my stepmother plans to wear? She dyed her hair again, now it's this really ugly maroonish red, 'to match yours, Lily, sweetheart!'. And the dress is like Glinda, the Good Witch of Oz, except in hot pink." Lily gagged and the three girls giggled and had another butterbeer, an engagement present from Madam Rosmerta. Served in the most elegant of plastic champagne glasses, of course. "On a happier subject, why were you so happy this morning, Jackie?"

Jackie hid a belch before she began. "Well, Sirius and James promised to be at the party and if they ever felt the need to be bad boys, they were going to the nearest aquarium."

"An aquarium?" Arabella interjected. "What are they, fish freaks?"

"No! They have Muggle Studies. Their professorr is the fish freak." Jackie explained, as if Arabella was from Jupiter.

"What about Remus, Ronan, Munguldus and Peter? Rafe?" Lily interrupted the staring contest. "What about their sudden urges to be rude?"

"Remus is polite at all times, you know that. Ronan is calm, cool and collected, Helen will have Rafe on a short leash, Munguldus agreed along with Sirius and James, and Peter isn't even coming, his mother won't let him." Jackie said, checking them off with her fingers.

"What are **you** wearing?" Arabella asked Lily as the snacks cart came through.

"This white dress with a full, fluffy skirt with this tulle-thingy petticoat under, it's almost like a 50's wedding dress, but the skirt's higher. It's like, totally, ugh, yucky Claire." She said as they all bombarded the snacks cart lady.

With a mouthful of Bertie's Beans ("That's how you don't get the nasty flavors, and the stuff doesn't affect you."), Jackie asked, "So, what's your plan? Flirt and seduce your way out of the engagement party and do the same to get into James's heart?"

"Ew, gross! Seducing Slytherins to get out of my own engagement party!" Lily exclaimed, letting bits of a Cauldron Cake fly everywhere.

"Just throwing it out there." Jackie muttered, picking a piece of Cauldron Cake off of her sweater.

"Well, throw it back in!"

The three girls giggled more and started throwing bits of Chocolate Frogs all over the place.


	28. The Gilded Lily

"This place looks like a caramel factory exploded over everything

"This place looks like a caramel factory exploded over everything.." Jackie began.

"And an airplane carrying strawberry pixie sticks and cotton candy exploded over that.." Arabella finished. All three girls gagged and then giggled.

"Come on, Bella, Jack. We got to go get you the pink dresses Claire got you." Lily said with an odd sort of smile. She may not have liked Severus, but at least he had complete devotion to her. That was something she could never expect from.. Well, let's say, one certain person.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a chorus of, "EWWWWWW!! PINK!!!"

"I look like I came out of a 50's candy-shop advertisement." Arabella grunted.

"BELLINA! DARLING! YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!!" Claire shouted across the room. Arabella turned on her heel.

"That's it. I'm going to go jump off the building. Knowing the size of my skirt, it will probably substitute for a parachute and I won't be dead. Have a nice party, Lily."

Arabella and Jackie both had their hair in huge curls, the top parts tied up with bright pink hair bows the size of Lily's feet put together. Their dresses were short and light pink, with fluffed sleeves and full, short skirts. There must have been a million lace-trimmed layers under those skirts. Every edge was trimmed with lace ruffles, including the bright-pink-and-white striped pinafores. They wore the palest pink tights and black Mary-Janes with big, bright-pink-and-white striped bows, also trimmed in lace.

"Lily, if you take pictures, I swear to God.." Jackie began, but Lily snapped a few photos really quickly.

"OHHHHH SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lily shrieked as she bounded outside and jumped over the banquet table. Delicacies and favorite dishes of all kinds were thoroughly smashed by, in Madame Effex's words, "Two giant running cotton candy sticks and a gargantuan cream puff.

Sirius waved a quick goodbye to Lily as she ran away, her white dress streaked with light pink food. Sirius was going to pursue James, who had found the sight of Lily being so happy to frustrating to handle.

Lily darted through the corridors of the hotel, and ran to her room. She swiftly locked the door behind her and laughed so hard she snorted. She looked at herself in the mirror, a fine sight with pink cake in her wet curls, and the skirt that reached her ankles dashingly striped with cotton candy. She picked up Severus's gift to her to take a closer look.

Her eyes sparkled, and then a green light flashed so suddenly, she dropped the hand mirror to the ground.

She picked up the three pieces carefully, and turned the mirror over. The giant gilded lily on the pack was chipped. It wasn't real gold at all. Just hard, black metal with a gold finish. A song came to her, Moonlight Sonata. Everything slowed down, and turned dark and she could only see the mirror glow and herself, like this heavenly angel. Words trickled slowly into her head, and then the light flashed again. Everything was normal.

Lily dropped the mirror again and rushed to her window, an urge that she never could explain. She saw James's figure leaving the vineyard and Severus's figure down below. But he wasn't alone. Lily listened closely, she was only on the second floor.

"Severus, you can't. She doesn't even love you."

"It's my obligation, Rita. I made a promise, I bought a ring. But she has to back out, I know she does. If she doesn't, she'll be fixed. Plus, Rita, there are benefits. You can tell everyone that she, well, you know.. With me.."

Lily filled with anger. She snatched a red dress, lined with white, and a purple one, lined with silver, from her closet and opened her door. Two very angry girls faced her, but she simply shoved the dresses in their hands and said, "We're going to toy with Severus Snape's head, and we're leaving him wrecked for life." 


	29. Of False Alarms, Chaos and Slinky Dresse...

Imagine a redhead bombshell in white, a blonde one in purple and a brunette one in red

Imagine a redhead bombshell in white, a blonde one in purple and a brunette one in red. Arabella, Lily and Jackie sneakily made it down to the grand hall, where Claire was greeting guests, in a similar get-up to the pink dresses that were lying on the floor upstairs, except her dress was bright pink, shorter, and she wore lacy gloves.

"That could have been you." Lily sneered to Arabella when she started to complain about the heels she borrowed.

"So, brilliant and fearless leader, what's our plan?" Arabella sneered back, both of them as quiet as could be.

"To be honest with you, I have no idea. But we need information, chaos and a reunion of James and I, in that particular order."

"Chaos?" Jackie whispered with a sly smile. "I can do chaos."

"Alright, girls.. I have a plan..."

"Claire!" Lily called. Claire smiled even bigger, than turned around to face her step-daughter. Her jaw graced the marble floor.

"Lily!! Lily, um... Er.." Claire was aghast, but she was at a loss for a name..

"Isabella." Lily said simply.

"LILY ISABELLA EVANS!!!!!!!! YOU HAVE CAUSED ENOUGH HAVOC TODAY! GO UPSTAIRS AND CHANGE, YOUNG LADY!!!" Claire shrieked, then smiled really nicely at Lucius Malfoy's father.

"Certainly, mother." Lily chirped, adding, in a quite quiet voice, "You haven't seen anything yet."

Jackie rushed up to Remus, Rafe, Helen and Munguldus. "You guys, there's been a big accident. Lily needs to find James and you guys need to go into the ballroom and lock all the entrances into it except for the one back door close to the smallest window. Remus, where's James?"

The four Gryffindors looked very confused. "I, uh.. Sirius knows where he is." Remus managed, but Jackie looked impatient.

"Where's Sirius?" She demanded. 

"He's at the aquarium in town. He needs information for his Muggle Studies project." Munguldus put in quickly.

"Thanks." Jackie began, hugging the both of them. "Now get going, you don't know how important this- CRAP! Claire will know something's up. Just don't be outside. There's something going on here and it's not safe."

The four stared at her run away, and decided to put off her advice until they knew better.

"Oh, Marie! It's lovely to see you again!" Lucius called out. Arabella didn't stop, not really noticing until he grabbed her arm. She spun around and instantly remembered. She twirled a lock of her hair.

"Ah... Zis is Lucy-Us, correct?" She said with a giggle.

"Correct.. Last time we met.. In Paris.."

"Ah, Paree!" Arabella went all misty.

"Right, you said you were interested in my hobbies. Care for me to show you a bit of a prank?"

"Uh-huh.." Arabella replied, licking her lips. Chaos? This was going to be like a comet hitting the big cake and letting it land all over Snape, Skeeter and Claire.

"Lily, you have to hurry on over to the aquarium, and hurry back. Don't go anywhere but to the back door to the ballroom, this place isn't safe. I saw Arabella talking to Lucius, as Marie.." Jackie gushed.

"Jackie, stop being so paranoid, we'll be fine. I'm going, okay?" Lily said, giving Jackie a hug. "I'll bring back the leaders of the pack, and we'll go to the ballroom and party all night, okay?"

"Promise?" Jackie asked meekly.

"If it's that important to you, of course." Lily whispered sweetly. "I'm going out through the kitchen. Get that chaos started. I don't hear Claire screaming my name in agony yet."

Jackie grinned and left.

Lily decided to get a snack before she left. Outside she heard sniffling, and she opened the window to hear better.

"She loves me, she loves me not.. She loves me, she loves me not.. How could I have been so stupid? How can I bring her into this world of evil?"

It was Snape. Lily slipped out the kitchen door and joined him on the back steps.

"Let's face it, Severus, I'm not sticking around for long."

"It's not him, is it?"

"I don't think so."

"Could I tell them... You know?"

"No, Severus."

"Sorry, just throwing it out there."

"Well, throw it back..." Before she finished her sentence, Lily realized the urgency of Jackie's request. She bounded off the steps and rushed out of the vineyard. If she caught a bus, she'd be able to get there in time. 

"Where the hell is he?" Lily whispered to herself as she wandered about the aquarium. Suddenly, it hit her. "Miss, where are the edible fish?"

Lily darted through the aquarium. Sure enough, Sirius was leaning against a tank, drooling.

"SIRIUS BLACK!! I NEED TO FIND JAMES!!!"

Sirius flashed her a grin and grabbed her by the wrist.

"James, I'm so glad we found you!" Lily rushed when they got to him, walking back on the dirt road to the vineyard. She slipped her hand into his. "I might have lost the only-"

Sirius gawked. "Look at that!"

Lily and James looked at the main house. Over it, there was the Dark Mark. In it, there were flashes of green and red light. People rushed by them towards the other direction, away from the house.

"What's wrong?" James managed to ask somebody.

"One of the future Death Eaters sent up a fake Dark Mark and Voldemort saw it, and he's there and he's on a rampage!" The frightened man said with a pale face.. 

"Oh my- Guys! Jackie! She's in there! And she's been paranoid and she's got this freaky plan and... We have to get over there! We have to!" Lily shrieked. The three darted down the road to the vineyard.


	30. The Massacre of Napa, California

Lily, James and Sirius rushed to the main house, curses were flying everywhere

Lily, James and Sirius rushed to the main house, curses were flying everywhere. A pale-skinned figure stood in the center of the slowly decaying house, and Lily was going to rush towards him, shaking her fists, but James pulled her back. Hard.

"LILY!" He barked. "GO! Go to the safest place you can think of and bolt the doors. Put every hex you can think of on it. Stay there. We will find Jackie and Helen and everyone else."

Lily glared at him for a moment, then yanked her arm back, taking off running. Her skirt ripped, a curse sailed past her, she gained a gash on her forehead, but she made it to the ballroom.

Nobody was there. Lily slowly stepped to the middle of the room and looked at the grand chandelier, and shivered.

"Mommy? You there?" She whispered. "Mommy, I need you. I need you to be an angel. I need you, mommy. I must have jumped over five dead bodies, mommy, they're dead because I wanted a little chaos. Mommy? Come and save me. Take me with you.. Please.."

The back door Lily came in suddenly opened and Jackie fell into the room, hitting the floor hard. Her red dress had been slashed, you could see the white lining, she was pale beyond belief, and she was bleeding heavily from the head.

Lily rushed to her, and dragged her to the center of the room. "Lily, I'm so glad I found you.. He's here because of me.. I'm dieing, Lily, I am.."

Lily quietly shushed her and let Jackie lay down, her head in Lily's lap. Lily absentmindedly ran her fingers through Jackie's hair, now dripping with sweat and blood.

"Jackie, it's alright, everything will be alright.."

"Rafe's dead, Lily. He's dead. Helen is screaming, Hufflepuffs are dieing, Ravenclaws are shrieking, Tom's pissed."

"Quiet, Jackie, quiet."

"Lily, I want you to remember that time is the best and worst thing that will ever happen to you and it's the only thing you can ever count on.. Tell Sirius I love him, Lily.. I do.. Everyone has a purpose in life, everyone will have a role to play. Everything happens for a reason, Lily. You must remember this. You must stay friends forever with our circle, but one of them will betray us, one of us will leave before they complete their education and continue at home. He wants me dead, and he shall have me dead." Jackie was rattling on, becoming lighter and lighter in Lily's lap.

"Whenever I was scared, my mommy always sang this to me, you'll feel better." Lily said in a very creepy whimsical voice, a voice that seemed empty. Around them plaster and boards fell to the floor, but a circle around them remained untouchable.

In a very shaky voice, slowly and painfully the words trickled out of Lily's throat. Out of nowhere the music from her jewelry box echoed around them, and Lily was soothing Jackie. She sang the same song for hours and hours on end.. Lily didn't hear the pounding the last time she sang it, the screams. She didn't feel Jackie slowly slipping away, she didn't hear the board fall onto Jackie's feet, or the crumbs of plaster in her hair.

_And now I'm all alone again_

_Nowhere to turn, no one to go to_

_Without a home without a friend_

_Without a face to say hello to_

_And now the night is near_

_I can make believe he's here_

_ _

_Sometimes I walk alone at night_

_When everybody else is sleeping_

_I think of him and I'm happy_

_With the company I'm keeping_

_The city goes to bed_

_And I can live inside my head_

_ _

_On my own_

_Pretending he's beside me_

_All alone_

_I walk with him till morning_

_Without him_

_I feel his arms around me_

_And when I lose my way I close my eyes_

_And he has found me_

_ _

_In the rain the pavement shines like silver_

_All the lights are misty in the river_

_In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight_

_And all I see is him and me forever and forever _

_ _

_And I know it's only in my mind_

_That I'm talking to myself and not to him_

_And although I know that he is blind_

_Still I say, there's a way for us _

_ _

_I love him_

_But when the night is over_

_He is gone_

_The river's just a river_

_Without him_

_The world around me changes_

_The trees are bare and everywhere_

_The streets are full of strangers_

_ _

_I love him_

_But every day I'm learning_

_All my life_

_I've only been pretending_

_Without me_

_His world would go on turning_

_A world that's full of happiness_

_That I have never known_

_ _

_I love him_

_I love him_

_I love him_

_But only on my own._

James looked up, the heavy log he, Sirius, Remus and Munguldus were using to get into the ballroom almost dropped. Lily was choking back tears from that song from her jewelry box always played. They gave it one last thrust and the double doors swung open noisily. Sirius rushed to Jackie's side, holding her dead body close to him. Munguldus helped a crazed Helen drag Rafe's body into the room. Sirius kissed Jackie's cold lips, hoping to bring life into them. Lily had a simply blank look on her face and another board fell, a light one, onto Lily's waist. Remus covered Sirius and Jackie's body, Munguldus hovered over Helen, and James over Lily. Arabella cuddled close to Ronan to get her protection. The room began to shake violently, and when the glass from the chandelier started to clink, James began shouting.

"ALRIGHT, EVERYBODY MOVE, THE CHANDELIER IS GOING TO CRASH!!!!!" 

Munguldus dragged Helen, who was still clinging to Rafe, over to the edges of the room. Sirius himself carried Jackie over, Remus and James lifted Lily, whose body was very heavy now. Barely after Ronan and Arabella got away, the whole thing dropped to the ground. The screams stopped, and there was no more noise.

"Do you think it's over?" Arabella whispered. Ronan stuck his head out.

"The Death Eaters are gone. Tom must have left."

And all of a sudden, the ballroom was clean and they were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. That was why Jackie made them go to the ballroom. It was like a Portkey.

So was the five-hour long massacre of Napa, California. Seven magical children were dead, five from Hogwarts. Three magical adults died in the explosion of the kitchen, and two Muggles coming to investigate were instantly killed. Claire had escaped the blast and had flown to Paris.


	31. A Bit of Aftermath

A/N: I'm sorry, but this chapter is going to have a bit of language that is coarser than usual

A/N: I'm sorry, but this chapter is going to have a bit of language that is coarser than usual. Please forgive me, but at this point, it would look really stupid to censor the words.

Seven patients in the Hospital Wing were all sent to take showers, and given fresh clothes, mostly leftovers from Ravenclaw sweater sales and clean slacks and skirts. Sirius was sitting next to the bed Jackie laid in, holding her hand delicately as if she would wake up any moment now. Helen was actually quite calm compared to the hours before. She sat like Sirius did, except her expression told everyone she knew Rafe was dead and he wasn't coming back.

Arabella was sobbing madly, Ronan hugging her close, soothing her. Lily was disgusted. Well, not at the fact that he was soothing Arabella, just at the fact no one was there to soothe her. 

As for Munguldus, he was standing quietly next to Helen, putting his hand on her shoulder for comfort. Remus was doing the same for Sirius, who seemed to have warped out. Lily turned her back on the room, facing the corner and staring at the amazingly-white walls. Her arms were crossed and she stood straight, with her hair slightly damp and a window close to her showing the signs of rain pouring.

James got the gash fixed on his leg, and his cheek was not as purple as it had been. It was probably Avery that punched him. His upper arm was no longer bleeding, but there were traces of a scar, a very flimsy lightning bolt. _Advada Kedavra_ had been sent past him, grazing his arm just a bit.

He looked up to see Lily brooding in the corner. As soon as he could shake Mademoiselle Pomfrey the Younger off, he stood up and approached her. She was tense, but she wasn't crying at all.

Lily felt someone's hands giving her a backrub. She didn't mind, even though she knew who it was. She really needed it. But this whole comfort thing seemed overrated. She began to sob uncontrollably, as if the past twenty-four hours had suddenly come to her.

"Sh.. It's alright.. It's all alright.." He whispered, becoming more and more gentle. She turned and went to sobbing into his chest, or rather, a sort of solid thingy with a soft blue cover.

"It's alright, Lils.. Everything will be alright.. I know how you feel..."

At this she snapped. In a low, dangerous whisper, "You know how I feel?"

James was suddenly frightened. She repeated herself, except this time in a high, dangerous squeak.

"You know how I feel?"

James tried to shake his head, but she grabbed him by the collar of his sweater.

"How could you... Possibly know how I feel? How could you **fucking** know I feel? Did _you_ lose a best friend? Did _you_ lose one of the only people you trusted? Did _you_ lose somebody you had told one of your **biggest** secrets to? Did _you_ lose the guy that had been your **_mentor_** for the past three years? Did _you_ lose somebody who arranged for you to have the time of your life? Did _you_ lose two of the **only** people that would remain loyal to you for _life_? **_No_**. Did _your_ best friend die in _your_ arms a few hours ago? **_No_**. You couldn't _possibly_ **_fucking_** comprehend any of my thoughts right now, you are too **_arrogant_** and too **_stupid_** and just **SO** ridiculous that I need you." She spat, each sentence climbing to a certain degree of danger. The last sentence was weak, as if she had taken her last breath.

And though the entire room was looking at her, she went back to sobbing in his arms again. Slowly James moved his arms around her waist, holding her like a flower that would die if he hugged her too close, or not close enough.

Under her breath, she was muttering weakly, "Too **_arrogant_** and too **_god damn stupid_**." And pounding at his chest lightly with tightly-clenched fists, but he didn't mind. In fact, he was soothing her with light shushes. She was quickly wearing down.

Mademoiselle Pomfrey didn't make anybody leave until they wanted to, she understood the circumstances. But James lifted Lily up and carried her to the Common Room, and she was still muttering, "Too **_arrogant_** and too **_god damn stupid_**...." Over and over.

Slowly she fell asleep. The day had come to her. She was out cold.

Most of Hogwarts was empty. Sirius walked about the halls, remembering where Jackie had been happiest, knowing where he wanted to go when he got out of Hogwarts.

Paris. She had been happiest in Paris, when they were in disguise and when they were dancing. Round and round and round, in that pretty red dress.. 

Sirius leaned against a wall and sank, his eyes dreaming of the days before, his body completely out of it.

Helen took a blanket, some soup and one of Rafe's Quidditch books and went out to sit in the stands of the pitch. Rafe would've liked it out here. Tonight was a perfect night for a late match. Helen looked over his plays, over his doodles (she smiled when she reached Rafe + Helen 4EVR) and found that, at the back, a whole bunch of pages were stuck together. There was a little hole in one of them, shaped like a key hole.

"In the front!" She thought aloud, flipping to the front. On the first page there was a key with a red ribbon taped to the paper. She removed it quickly and flipped back to the stuck-together pages. She inserted the key and twisted it, to find a little velvet box and a piece of parchment.

She read it aloud. 

_Fellow students, tonight I leave you all, hopefully with good memories of me._

_However, there is one person in this room that shouldn't leave without me._

_Helen Guerra has been the most wonderful girlfriend I've ever had._

_She understands my love of Quidditch, the rules and fun. She defends me more than_

_anyone. Of all people, she deserves to be valedictorian of the class of 1975. _

_In my heart, she always will be._

_Helen Guerra,_

_Will you marry me?_

A tear dropped from Helen's eye as she clutched the piece of parchment to her chest like it was Rafe's soul. She opened the velvet box to find a golden ring with the head of a lion made of rubies. She put the box and the parchment back in the special compartment, locking it. She slipped the ring onto the ribbon that held the key, and tied the ribbon around her neck. She curled up in her seat and fell asleep.

Munguldus alerted his mother that Jackie was dead. Munguldus was Jackie's cousin and it was he that had taken her to her first balls. He owled the rest of the family, and spent the night with the owls, not caring where he was. The cool spring breeze floated in, but he kept warm. It was like Jackie was there, surrounding him with warmth and family love.

Remus stayed up in the top box of the Quidditch field, with a small smile aimed at Helen's sleeping figure. He read Rafe's playbooks over and over, booming them with great pride in the soundproof box. He leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the way the night went. He very tidily scribbled across the transcript of all of his announcements of the Gryffindor games, _In Loving Memory of Our Two Fallen Players and Our Fearless Leader, Jacqueline "Jackie" Kensington and Rafael "Rafe" Hernandez_.

"Ronan, it's my fault. Malfoy was showing off for me. He was the one that sent up the Dark Mark."

"Bella, don't feel so guilty. You didn't know what would happen."

"I can't stay here. I just can't."

"Can't you at least finish out the year and arrange for some other form of education?"

"I'll finish out the year and attend Beauxbatons or something, I just can't stay here."

"I support whatever decision you make, but you should think about this."

"I will, Ronan."


	32. Furthur Into the Aftermath

A/N: Cloudzi, don't worry, good news is on the way

A/N: Cloudzi, don't worry, good news is on the way. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, I've really enjoyed listening to your feedback.

Arabella and Ronan quietly tiptoed into the Common Room. Lily was fast asleep by the weakening fire, James sitting across from the sofa she was sleeping on, running a few of his fingers through her hair. He acknowledged the two's presence with a nod, and they went to their dormitories.

Helen found a piece of parchment in the bag next to her and a quill. With plenty of coffee, soup and crackers, she began writing her Head Girl Farwell speech.

_My fellow students, today is a day when we have no regrets. Or, rather, it is supposed to be.._

_ _

Remus and a big, huge supply of paint and paintbrushes.Not a good thing in most cases. But, as he set to work, there was going to be a mural of memories on the Gryffindor Quidditch team's locker room wall. First, the outlines of Sirius and Jackie's faces when they were dancing.

Sirius danced with himself around the corridors, the rush of the dancing there with him, Jackie's laughter rang in his ears, images of that night in Paris flashed before his eyes. But then, a green light flashed. A song played very slowly, and very creepily as the lights dimmed lower and everything turned into slow-motion mode. Sirius glowed white, like a heavenly angel (A/N: Do you remember this?). There was a huge crash, like breaking glass and suddenly the lights were on at full blast. The song.. He knew it.. Moonlight Sonata.. He hummed a bit, and at that moment, he could have been pronounced insane by St. Mungo's. He started laughing insanely, and Munguldus woke up on the other side of the castle, his nightmare over and his tongue panting as he breathed heavily.

Lily woke up by the dieing fire. James's face had a whole bunch of shadows, and the glow surrounded him. She smiled weakly and sat up.

"Morning, beautiful." He whispered to her, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I've been thinking about something."

"Yes?" Lily asked, taking a sip of James's butterbeer, warm in a nice big mug.

"This whole- These are the times when, uh.. We'll need each other most, but.. We can't do it as a couple. Plus, there is Natasha.. We'd fight too much and do things.. Like yesterday. We don't want anymore, well, Jackies. Friends?"

Lily bit her lip. "Friends. For life. You've got a point. If we had a kid, the thing would be insane."

"Completely." James said, then they both laughed. 

"So.. What about this whole Natasha thingy? Nah-Tah-shah!" She teased, making him blush.

"Well, she's this girl I met at one of the balls.." James started, not meeting her eyes..

"Details, Potter!" She demanded playfully.

"So we're on a last name basis now?" 

"Mrs. Nah-Tah-Shah Potter!"

"You are so dead." 

With a little hot butterbeer and a few knocked-over pieces of furniture, some of the worst trials of Lily's life were turned into a decent night.

"Professor! Professor!" Munguldus shouted down the corridor, as he approached the Headmaster's quarters. "We have a situation!"

Professor Dumbledore emerged from his bedchamber in a yellow-and-purple polka dot nightcap, pulling on a bathrobe.

"Mr. Fletcher, don't tell me the Divination skills run in the family?" Professor Dumbledore asked worriedly, his normally twinkling eyes cold as ice.

"Unfortunately, yes. And two have had the Dream. They're Marked for life." Munguldus panted, worn out from running. He should have paid attention to Lily's Short-Cuts article in the _Hogwarts Prophet_. This issue was major, and couldn't be avoided. 


	33. The Drama of the Quidditch Team (not so ...

"Oh shit

"Oh shit." Lily whispered, looking up from her planner. The entire Common Room looked up, expecting another drama-queen moment. As soon as everyone had returned from funerals and Easter vacation, Lily had returned to her cold, reigning Queen of Gryffindor act. Her closest friends knew it was just a way to cover up the pain, others shrugged it off, labeling the months of October-April as 'The Weird Lily Period'.

"The last Quidditch match is Saturday." She whispered again.

"We have back-ups, remember?" Ronan said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not that, Mr. Sarcasm. We can't go on without a captain. School rules." She snapped, momentarily losing her cool.

The room silenced as people brainstormed. "You do it." Said James finally.

The room was silenced for a different reason.

"Are you a completely daft bloke or just temporarily out of it?" Lily asked, tucking her legs under her body, staring at him through her cat-eye glasses.

"You do it. The only reason you aren't on the Quidditch team is because you never tried out. You're talented, you know the rulebook back and front, and every play ever invented, you've memorized it." He insisted, then turning to Helen. "Wouldn't Rafe have wanted it this way?"

The room was again silent, every head turned towards Helen, who sat in the back, and many had to readjust their positions to look at her.

"Yes." She said after a long pause. "Yes, he would have wanted us to be happy. He would have wanted us to go on with the game. He would have wanted us to win. He would have wanted to win himself. But, seeing as he can't be here to do it himself, he would rather someone he trusted to be in charge."

Helen hadn't really uttered a word since April 21st. Everything she said was whispery, but at least she had said something. Lately, Munguldus had been spending a lot of time in the Headmaster's office, and not at all for the excuses he gave his friends.

"Prefect thing. Detention." None of these were believable. And slowly, the family that was the Quidditch team was falling apart. Ronan was moody, Munguldus was busy, and Arabella would burst into tears every few minutes. Sirius would dance around rooms as if he had a partner, humming a song every now and then. Lily was acting coldly to everyone, and Jonathan and Tasnim were both very jumpy. As for James, he was quiet and absorbed in his studies.

Lily looked around the room, surveying her team. They weren't being themselves. She stood up and opened her mouth.

"ALRIGHT! I don't **exactly** know what is going on, but I **_don't_** really care. _Our _team is going to **_lose_**. I don't care whether you guys are alright with that, but **I'm** not. **_Whether_** or not it's _mood swings _(she glared at Ronan and Arabella), caffeine (she gave a cold glance in Jonathan and Tasnim's direction), insanity ("SIRIUS! PAY ATTENTION!"),a '**_detention_**' (Munguldus sank in his seat) or your studies, this team is going to whip into shape and we're going to win. You can do all of this crap later. And, while I'm in charge, I arrange your schedules, your diets and your lives. There will be NO crap, none at all." Then, she took away the candy bars from Jonathan and Tasnim, handed Arabella, Sirius and Ronan a bottle of Prozac, gave Munguldus a pack of schedules to pass out and snatched up James's book.

"Are you ready?" She snapped.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" They answered, all leaping into military action.

"Then let's get you wimps out onto the field and into those uniforms. This is the Quidditch final, I need cheerleaders, I need a band, I need peanut guys and I need a guy to dress up in the furry mascot costume!"

Before the day was over, they had a twelve-piece band, four peanut guys, a mascot, and a team of fourteen cheerleaders, all with red and gold and white uniforms, minus the mascot. He had a furry lion costume with a large headpiece and a big scarlet embroidered G on the front. And they still had over two-hundred fans to fill the their side of the stadium, all dressed in Gryffindor merchandise.

"Now, this is much better. Bed, team! We've got a six A.M. wake-up call for another practice, that means the cheerleaders and the band, too! And you, William, you gotta be out there to with a big lion smile on your headpiece!" Lily said, with a satisfied smile. "This is what I call a team!"


	34. The Final Days of Lily's Fifth Year

"And Gryffindor wins the House Quidditch Cup 215-20 on this lovely June afternoon

"And Gryffindor wins the House Quidditch Cup 215-20 on this lovely June afternoon. The team would like everyone to know that they can only dream that Jacqueline "Jackie" Kensington and Rafael "Rafe" Hernandez were here to share the victory. Here's to you guys." Remus said with a sniffle. The victory was bittersweet. Instead of smiles and cheers, the Gryffindors and their supporters had tears mixed with sorrow and happiness.

Exams had been called off for funeral services. Five Hogwarts students had been killed in the massacre, and even though Gryffindor had won the House Cup, everyone was preparing black curtains and decorations for the final feast.

Meanwhile, packing was going on in every dormitory. For Arabella, it was forever. She was to go to a magic public school in London.

"Blossom, Bella? This is our last year as a group. Next year, this dormitory will be empty except for me. Are you sure you have to go to Beauxbatons, Blossom?" Lily asked with a sniffle.

"I have no choice. My dad's an artist, you know.. So that means Paris for me. I'll write." Blossom said, getting the last item she owned in the room into her trunks. "Guys, help."

Arabella and Lily joined Blossom by sitting on the trunk's lid, and Blossom snapped the latch closed. "Thanks."

"Look at the bright side, Lils. McGonagall said you can turn this room into your own. And aren't you staying here over the summer?" Arabella asked as she pulled her Alley Guys pin-up down from the window.

"Yeah.. They sort of understood about Claire..." Lily muttered, flushing. "McGonagall is going to take me shopping when she selects the books for all the book lists."

"What will you do all summer?" Arabella pondered aloud, pulling down the curtains she had put up (the ones with the little lily blossoms and little bells all over them).

Lily sighed. "Probably take my O.W.Ls, just to get the scores, study a bit, and decide how to decorate this room. The beds are leaving the day you guys are. And, of course, I'm going to find every single secret passage and room there is. I'll give myself a one-up on my fellow Marauders."

"I'm going to miss you guys." Arabella wailed.

"Oh crap!" Lily exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "The yearbooks! I've got to pass them out!"

"Relax, Lils. You first need to get the photos of the Quidditch Cup developed." Blossom said, as if it was obvious.

"Good. Remember.. My birthday!" Lily squealed. "In two months, I'll be sixteen!"

"Well, birthday girl, hate to ruin the surprise, but the Marauders have already started planning your sweet sixteen party." Arabella said with a coy smile. 

"Spill it, Arabella." Lily demanded, jumping on her bed.

"And ruin the surprise?" Blossom said with a giggle. Lily caught on quickly.

"You don't know, do you?"

"Nope." They chorused. All three girls giggled and took a heavy swig of pixie sticks.

"You're good." Lily said finally. All the Gryffindors managed to slip into the locker room to admire what Remus had done to the walls. On one wall, he had depicted the scholarly success of Rafe and Jackie. On the opposite, their triumphs in Quidditch. One wall featured all the greatest memories they had (including Sirius and Jackie dancing in Paris, Sirius shed a tear). And on the last wall, there were little tiny mosaics with symbols of every Gryffindor in the year, and a spot to sign their names with paint. In the center of it all, there were memorials and shelves to put flowers and other such things.

"This is good." Remus said as he stood back to admire his work. "Next, we do the lockers to honor the Marauders."

People hooted and cheered, glad they left a memorial for two fallen friends. 

Lily, Blossom and Arabella chose their best casual black clothing to wear to the final feast. Helen would be making her farewell speech. Alone.

"Scoot over, James.." Lily hissed when she couldn't find a seat.

"I can't, Lily." He whispered.

"Why not?" She demanded in a low voice.

"There are no more seats."

The remainder of the seats had been taken up by Rafe's parents and Jackie's mother. The only seat left was Helen's.

"Fine, but don't take this as a compliment." She muttered.

"Take what?" He asked quickly, but soon found out. She settled herself in his lap.

Professor Dumbledore finished up his speech, and said, "Without further adieu, Helen Guerra, Head Girl."

Helen stepped up, dressed head-to-toe in black. "Hello, fellow students. Normally, the Head Boy and Head Girl would do the speeches together. Now, as you all know, this is impossible. Let me read you an article from April 22, 1975. It's a Daily Prophet article."

"_Yesterday, in Napa, California, in the United States, an engagement party at the magical Nicholas's Vineyard was attacked by the Dark Lord and his followers when a young Death Eater was showing off and accidentally sent up a Dark Mark. In the havoc, the Dark Lord discovered an enemy of his was present. She died last. The Napa Valley Massacre left fifteen dead and four hundred injured. Three of the casualties were Muggles, coming to investigate._"

"That is how the Daily Prophet put it. Not only did they fail to capture the chaos, the pain, the ruins of that beautiful house, they did not at all capture what happened to those inside the house. Death and injury are not details. Do you know how _I_ spent my last minutes there? Clutching the body of my dead boyfriend, crying, huddling against the wall of a ballroom covered in debris of plaster, wood and glass- The chandelier had crashed. Do any of you know who Jacqueline "Jackie" Kensington was? Or Rafael "Rafe" Hernandez? Or Jay Adams? Patricia Moon? Maria Garcia?" Helen demanded in a loud, dangerous voice.

Her voice, though full of determination and anger, was very shaky. "I did. Patricia Moon went to Hogsmeade every day to care for our penniless elderly. Jay Adams gave up his Potions grades to take care of his sick grandmother every day. Rumor has it, he would have barely scraped by into the next year. Maria Garcia planted the big flowerbed out in the front of Hogsmeade's entrance and has watered and taken care of it daily because no one else would. Rafe never hurt a soul, he was very wrapped up in taking care of his team members, and they were his family. He was always sticking his head in a Quidditch book, or a Herbology book. He is this year's valedictorian. When Lily Evans had nowhere to go for Christmas last year, he invited her to spend time at his house. She was really sick and he nursed her back to health. Finally, Jackie helped raise money for everything her house needed money for, and was the top of her class, and the youngest member of the Quidditch team. She loved Paris, red dresses and dancing with her boyfriend Sirius. She, it turns out, is the one the Dark Lord wanted to kill. She had forewarned many of us, Remus, James, Sirius, Arabella, Lily, Munguldus, Ronan, Rafe and myself where to go when the chaos broke out. And that's how we escaped. We were sent to the hospital wing here. She was the one who risked her life for others. I hope the Death Eaters are happy. They ruined the legacy of Rafael Hernandez, and they destroyed the rainbow bright future of Jacqueline Kensington."

"Furthermore, tonight was supposed to be a night of no regrets. Tonight I was going to be the happiest woman alive. I found out recently that tonight, Rafael Hernandez was supposed to propose to me. And you know what? I would've said yes. I really hope you Death Eaters are happy. You have ruined the lives of four hundred fifteen families and more. Thank you very much, and, Slytherins-"

This was the only time they looked up. Helen's serious expression turned coy. "Enjoy the food."

Lily was still laughing as her friends got to the platform the next day. "Well, they said they wanted something representing their house. Now, they're green with silver hair! Now, then, who wants hugs?"

Lily opened her arms wide, and Remus ran over to her. They hugged for several minutes, then Lily screamed, "NEXT!"

In a matter of thirty minutes, Peter, Munguldus, Helen, Ronan and Sirius had gotten their hugs, and next was Arabella.

"I'll see you around, girlie." Lily said, managing not to sniffle. "You owl me when you need to."

"You owl me when you're in London. I'm staying with my grandmother in an apartment near Diagon Alley." Arabella whispered, then they broke apart as the train whistle blew really loud.

"Where's James?" Lily shouted. But then, she heard him shout from behind her.

She ran up to him, and he dropped his suitcases. She ran into his arms and he spun her around, she giggling the entire time. 

"You're going to miss your train." She said as the rain started to pour.

"I'm going to miss you." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You be good."

He left, Lily shouting after him- "I'll try!"

Inside the train, they were making an announcement. "Will Sirius Black collect his trunk and his bags and meet Professor Dumbledore on the platform please?"

His friends shot him a questioning look, and he shot one just as questioning back. He shoved his stuff out the compartment door and waved a merry goodbye.

"Sirius, we've owled your family. You're staying at Hogwarts this summer with Lily." Professor Dumbledore said simply, his eyes like ice like the early morning of April 22nd.

Sirius looked at him with a confused air, then to Lily with the same pondering look. His trunk disappeared and Lily ran up to him. He put his arm around her shoulder and they followed the Headmaster back to the castle. 


	35. The Summer of Hogwarts Cast-Offs

"You have both been marked as victims of Voldemort because of people you lost

"You have both been marked as victims of Voldemort because of people you lost. One of you, according to very good sources, will die a premature death, never living to see your family. One of you will just be looked upon as social outcast, the worst outlaw of them all, never having time to see your family. This ultimately will give you the worst nightmares, but, this summer will teach you to trust each other completely. Somebody needs to have that trust in this world. I need you to follow your first instincts, and by the end of the summer, you will be able to read one another's instincts and keep yourselves alive a little longer." Dumbledore's speech rang in Lily's head over and over again as she and Sirius walked back in uncomfortable silence.

"Sirius, you know what would be a good way to spend quality time together, really break the ice?" She asked suddenly as they reached the portrait hole. The password for the entire summer was 'Sirius and Lily's place'.

"What would that be?" Sirius asked with a sly smirk. A smirk that hadn't played on his lips for quite a while.

"Sirius, would you like to help me decorate my room?" 

"Mahvelous! Dahlings! New bait!" Cried the flamboyant man in the interior design shop. He hurried over in his flowing silk tunic and wide pants, both loud shades of pink and orange.

His high-pitched voice had Sirius hiding behind Lily, and there wasn't much to hide behind either, she was pretty small.

"So, what exactly is it you need?" Piped a familiar voice behind them.

Sitting at the desk was Munguldus Fletcher, making sketches in his portfolio, and closing it with a loud bang.

"What's with psycho-man?" Sirius whispered in fear. Munguldus muffled his laughter in a pile of crumpled-up sketching paper.

"He just loves customers. With an owner like him, this shop doesn't get too many." Munguldus whispered. "Let me repeat my question.." He said in a louder tone, because his boss was getting suspicious. "What exactly do you need?"

"Oh, dahling! The girl needs a spring set and the boy needs an autumn! Can't you tell? Move over!" The flamboyant man said, scooting Munguldus clear out of his seat. "Hello, dahling, my name is Bartholomew!"

"Lily, charmed, I'm sure.. My friend isn't buying anything. He's just living in my apartment, or rather, I'm living in his. The room he gave me was totally autumn, and the minute his sister moved out, I was screaming 'I AM A SPRING!' He's helping me make decisions." Lily lied very quickly, and Sirius exchanged a glance with Munguldus. These two were clearly going to be friends.

"I like it." Sirius said. "Very virginal."

"Shut up." Lily said. "I like it."

Lily's room was white, smooth, plain white. The canopy had grand ruffles trimmed in tiny lace ruffles, and the carpet was a pretty white as well. The cushions on the chairs were shiny light blue, like the ribbons trimming the canopy. The walls were white-washed, and Lily's pillows were white with cotton and lace ruffles, and blue ribbons interlaced. The curtains on the bed were light, but when closed gave privacy. The shiny light blue ribbons hung from the posts on her bed (newly painted white), dangling in the daintiest fashion. On the walls were prints of Georgia O'Keefe, with plain white frames. There was Lily's new trunk at the foot of the bed, Charmed to look white with a light-blue-colored silk cushion on top, just in the dormitory. The vanity had been painted white, the chairs and the stool had been painted white, and so had the wardrobe and the entrance to the walk-in closet. Holding the curtains back from the windows were these grand bows, with the same shiny light blue ribbon that trimmed Lily's bedclothes. She had three white shelves for her books, and a few hooks on the back of the door, and a dowel to hang her cauldron on. There was a little dowel next to it, supposedly useless.

"It's nice, it really is." Sirius said. "Can I test the mattress?"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Lily asked with a smirk.

Ten minutes later, the canopy laid on the floor and Lily and Sirius were jumping up and down on the mattress. Lily started panting and begged to stop. By the time the mattress had stopped bouncing, the bed was remade and the canopy was in its proper place. Lily's stuffed animals sat on the hidden shelf on the wall behind one of the bed curtains.

"Has it sunk in yet?" She asked, flopping down on the bed horizontally.

"Not really." Sirius replied, laying down next to her. Lily's dormitory was at the top of the stairs, and the ceiling (flat, unfortunately) had been painted like the stars on a clear early April night, but with a tug on the supposedly useless dowel, a spiral staircase appeared out of nowhere, everything moving so that it was accessible. The staircase had soft white carpet and no rail.

"You want to go up to the top of the tower? I got some old sofas up there and blankets and cocoa.." Lily sort of drawled, sleepy.

"Sure."

"What do you think the others are doing?" Lily asked as she pulled her blanket closer. It was amazingly cold for a June night, and the sky was clear. Lily had her feet up on the old futon couch.

"Arabella is probably doing her required summer reading for Le Fay, Helen is vacationing in Mexico and applying for jobs, Ronan is at Quidditch camp. James is probably at some boring party for the Ministry- His stepfather is an official there. And Munguldus is still sketching near the crazy dude." Sirius said. "Wonder how they do it."

"What?" Lily sputtered. "Wonder how **they** do it? At least they've got a family. All I've got is Claire and _Petunia_."

"I meant the stars. How do they burn so bright night after night?"

"Well- it's actually quite simple-" Lily began, but Sirius interrupted.

"Not like that.. The same thing day in day out.. Wouldn't it get boring?" 

Lily smiled. He wasn't completely back, but there was something of Sirius's personality trickling slowly into his brain.

The summer was going to be easier than she thought. As Sirius fell asleep and she pulled the thermos cup to her lips, Lily smiled. 


	36. The Gilded Elite

"You guys are so in denial

"You guys are so in denial." Sirius said before taking another lick of his ice cream. "You two have a great chemistry."

"Sirius, we'd drive each other nutzo! I really don't want to talk about this, anyway. The whole relationship thing is crazy- My mother always said experimenting dating is for after you're not stuck seeing one of your exes day after day. This, ultimately means- NO DATING JAMES. I mean, interhouse dating has to be the easiest, because you don't run into them in the Common Room or in most of your classes or at the house table.." Lily said, ticking off these items on her fingers. "Do you know what? I believe that's my ice cream cone you're eating."

"Well, Johnny- Tell her what she's won!" Sirius drawled sarcastically. Jackie's death had given him more of an edge- Something to make him, well, more serious.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Lily said playfully, letting him demolish her cone. "And that was my favorite flavor.." She said in a more quiet voice.

"So interhouse dating is okay, huh?" A voice said behind them. Lily turned and saw an old friend, Ravenclaw David Morales.

"Hi, David!" Lily said excitedly, wrapping her arms around his neck in a big hug. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"David.. Uh, hi.. I'm Sirius.. Lily here has forgotten her charm school training.. I don't believe we've met.." Sirius sort of said suspiciously, making Lily glare at him. Lily knew for a fact that Sirius had the profile of every student in Hogwarts stored in his head.

"I'm, uh, David Morales.. Ravenclaw, about to be seventh year.." David stuttered nervously, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, er, David.." Sirius said, mocking him. Lily glared again. "Care to join us for an early dinner before we have to return to the castle?"

Lily smiled weakly. Sirius understood just like Dumbledore said he would.

"So, what's with the whole chicken thing?" Sirius asked as they both settled in Lily's dormitory to finish summer homework.

"Huh?" Lily asked with a confused scowl. While she laid flat on her stomach on her bed, Sirius was sitting up, using the lamplight as he scribbled on the window seat.

"This David person ordered a piece of dry white chicken. A big piece of dry white chicken with no sauce, flavoring or seasoning of any kind, and water." Sirius said simply, slipping on his reading glasses.

"Yeah, so?" Lily pondered while attempting to answer a multiple choice sheet on Herbology. She began to chew on her quill, and found it wasn't very tasty.

"And instead of macaroni and cheese, he ordered macaroni and butter." Sirius pointed out. "And the answer to number seven is B."

"Thanks.. Macaroni and butter? You notice more about my dates than I do." Lily muttered, cocking her head to one side and scribbling down her answer.

"Ah, a date? I don't remember a date. I remember a dinner with an old acquaintance who has the most boring appetite in the world. He even ordered chocolate pie without any chocolate or the whipped cream! Is that possible?" Sirius asked, taking off his reading glasses and putting his Muggle Studies homework down.

"He ate only pie crust? Gross." Lily said, wrinkling her nose.

"So, perchance you ever get away from the wonderfully charming me, would you go out with him?" Sirius asked in a mocking voice. Lily blushed and looked like she was thinking over it, but then started scribbling down some answers for the Herbology homework.

"Ooo! No answer from the dateless loser!" Sirius teased, making Lily blush deeper. She flipped over her paper and on three of the slots, instead of A, B, C or D, she had written Y! E! S!

They both started laughing hysterically.

"Lily?" Sirius said after a pause of silence.

"Yeah?" Lily asked after a beat.

"What's your shoe size?" Sirius asked, his head drooping off the edge of the window seat and the blood rushing to it. (Remus: "For once.")

"What's so important about my shoe size?"

"What's so unimportant about your shoe size?" Sirius asked, well, seriously.

"Just shut up, Sirius."

"Just throwing it out there!"

"Well, throw it back in!"

Lily began to drool on her Herbology homework, and Sirius's chart of how the Muggle postal system worked was lingering on the floor. They had fallen asleep, and suddenly, a breeze of sparkly gold opened the window and flowed through the room. The room was cleaned and suddenly, Lily was sleeping on the floor: There was no bed. The curtains flowed softly in the breeze, not making Sirius wake up. The nightstand disappeared, and everything on there did as well, except the music box, which fell to the floor with a crash. Both sleepers woke up instantly.

The gold disappeared and a green light flashed. The music box played 'On My Own' while Moonlight Sonata played at the same time, both very slow. Sirius rose and suddenly he was white like an angel, glowing in the darkness. Lily stood up slowly and the same glow surrounded her. The gold encircled them, and they started dancing really quickly, out of sync of the music, like Jackie and Sirius had danced in Paris.

A hurtling crash of the mirror flashed in Lily's brain and both dreamers woke to a start.

The room was back to normal. Sirius turned on a lamp. Slowly, with the same arms and at the same time, Lily and Sirius pinched themselves and leaped up into the air from the pain. Their every movement was like choreography, either completely contrasting or completely the same.

"What's wrong with us?" They both asked at the same time, swinging their arms about. Lily knocked over her music box and the spell was over. Instead of music, words in a monotone, almost automated voice came to their ears.

"You are the Gilded Elite. United you stand, divided you fall. Soon, you will be engaged in an accidental journey. Other members of the Elite will join you, and you will all return by the Red Lily's sixteenth birth anniversary celebration. Of the selected six, you two will trust each other beyond belief, but one mistake will ruin it all. Forget this. Your futures have been predicted and you cannot change them. Let things go as they go, and beware when the two songs you've heard tonight ever play. That means someone has betrayed you. This message will be destroyed with this music box in five... Four.. Three... Two.. One.."

The music box exploded and suddenly, the room was filled with a soft glow of light. A golden flash appeared and the two were fast asleep in the darkness again, the window open to let the breeze flow through.

"Dumbledore- They have been warned." Came a hoarse whisper in the darkness on the other side of the castle. "They'll have to live their fate as best they can, nothing will change it now."

"I know, I know.. But I can't help but worry that they are in immense danger."

"Perhaps it is because they are."


	37. And Sirius Is Suffocated By Flowers

"Hey Prongs

"Hey Prongs." Sirius's voice came over the phone. Sirius was on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, using a pay phone to call James in Godric's Hollow.

"Hey Padfoot. Glad you could finally contact me. What happened on the train?" James asked, leaning back in his seat by the window. Outside across the street some little kids were playing.

"Uh.. My mom wanted me to stay at Hogwarts this summer.. Problems on the farm.." Sirius lied, running a hand through his hair. "I'm staying with Lily."

"Is she around?" James asked, trying not to seem to eager, and ignoring the suspicions he had about Sirius's situation.

"Nope, not really.. In fact, I'm trying to get away from her dormitory- The place reeks with the smell of flowers."

"What are you talking about?" James asked with a certain amount of boredom in his voice. Lily's room was really no concern to him.

"Flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, you name it.. He's also got singing cards, trinkets, photo frames, soaps, magazines, books.. Anything you can give a girl, he's given it.." Sirius said. "I'm surprised she hasn't suffocated from the number of things in her room. It's not that big.."

"WHAT are you talking about?" James demanded.

"David Morales. The guy that's interested in Lily. She's had her number of admirers, but this one has pushed the envelope." Sirius muttered, not realizing the pangs in James's heart.

"So is she seeing him?" James asked, failing to sound casual.

"Not really.." Sirius dragged out the words, it suddenly hitting him that James didn't like this David fellow. "She has this rule about no summer dating.. There was this summer date of hers after second year that crushed her. Nope, no summer flings for Lily."

"Oh, **good**. I mean, good, right.. Lily won't get hurt- She's had enough of that.." James lied, his head hurting because so many contrasting thoughts were going through his head.

"Riiiight.. Dude, what have you been eating? You sound worse than I do, and I have come from a dormitory that has every feminine smell in there imaginable." Sirius asked, worried. He became comfortable on the short little bench in the phone booth.

"Nothing.. Nothing.. When will you guys be up in London?" James asked, rubbing his temples... His head and his heart were having the battle of the hormones up in his brain.

"A few days. Lily's packing for the both of us.. Dammit, that David fellow is buying more flowers.. I got to go, James.." Sirius muttered in somewhat of a lie.. He didn't have to go, but he couldn't bear a conversation with James at the moment.

James hung up the phone, wondering what was wrong with him.

"How on earth are we going to get rid of all those chocolates?" Sirius asked as he flopped down on Lily's bed. "I'm sick to my stomach.. We've tried every variety on earth."

"We could sell them for a nice profit. _Discounted Honeydukes Chocolate, just pay shipping and handling..._ That'll give us a profit and pay for an ad in the Daily Prophet." Lily said cleverly, rearranging her flowers, which, in a nice little rhyme, would take her hours.

"And the singing cards?" He pondered, really hating the little song the big one sang.

"Well, they've all got my name on it, so we should just dump them." Lily said after smelling a group of daffodils.

"The soaps?" Sirius asked, picking up the bunch of weird-shaped ones.

"Place them in all the bathrooms all over the school.. Save Filch a job." Lily replied instantly, sniffing a group of yellow irises. "These smell like lemonade."

"Photo frames?" Sirius asked, conjuring a list of things to go down.

"Wrap them and we'll save them for Christmas presents for people we're obligated to give Christmas presents to." Lily said after thinking a minute. "We're throwing those petunias out, their coloring is all wrong for the room."

Sirius picked them up and put them in the trash next to the singing cards. "Teddy bears?"

"Uh.. Send them to your sisters. The trinkets you can send as well, the ones on the bookshelf, and there's a big one you can send to your brother's new wife." Lily said, though putting on a chain with a glass lily charm. But then she saw James's locket around her neck, and thrust the chain off. "Or this one. Isn't her name Lilly?"

"Yeah, he's got good taste." Sirius said, making a small smile at Lily's loyalty to a memory. "The magazines?"

"Keep them for the girls, put them in the Common Room or something.. There are some Quidditch magazines you can put in your dormitory." Lily said, fingering the locket as she looked in the mirror.

"And finally, the books.. Most of them you can't use- How To Make Cheese Flavored Crackers or Liquid Soap: The Mystery of It All." Sirius muttered, thinking the guy was nuts.

Lily laughed. "We'll give them to Madam Pince. There are a bunch of weird books in the library too."

"And will you forever suffocate me with the smells of these flowers?" Sirius whined, as he collected everything they were going to remove from the room.

"Let me select a few varieties that I like." Lily said, a finger going to her lips immediately as she slowly walked about her room.

"Pack a few of your favorite prank tools, Sirius, we will have an unexpected journey ahead of us." She said after a moment of silence, dumping vases left and right.

"There, Sirius.. Magazines to the Common Room, soaps to the bathroom, go up to the owlry and send those trinkets and teddy bears out, I'll wrap the photo frames and you take the books to the library. I'll dump the flowers off the roof." Lily said in a perky tone.

"Whatever, Lily.." Sirius muttered, grabbing things to throw out first. By the time he finished his tasks, there were no flowers in the dormitory at all. He pulled on the dowel and the staircase came down.

The rooftop was covered with flowers. But, Sirius noticed, these blooms were only flowers that they had interacted with in the past year, in their times with James, Jackie, Rafe... Lily was lying in the middle of the flower display, drowning in sweet scents and blissful memories. Sirius silently went back down the stairs, letting Lily fall asleep in the flowers.

_"Princess?" James's voice asked her, dragging out the word and making her drool._

_"Yes, James?" Lily asked, perfectly perky and wearing pink, for some odd reason._

_"How are you today?" He asked.. Lily still couldn't see him, but she wandered about the halls of somewhere, no particular location, trying to find him._

_"Fine, James, fine.." She said, beginning to sob. "Where are you, James? Where are you?"_

_"I'm right here, under your nose, Princess. I'm right here." His voice said. She looked down. Suddenly, there was a warp thingy of black and liquidly silver and she was falling into it._

_"JAMES!!!!!!!!!!!"_

Lily woke up from her daydream as the sun started to go down. Sirius was sitting next to her, and she had been screaming, sweating.

"Are you okay, Lily?" He asked softly. She nodded weakly.

"The scent of all these flowers is making me giddy. Let's go downstairs." She said, and the spot where the staircase had disappeared appeared again at request. Several blood red lilies that hadn't been there before toppled down into her room.


	38. A Journey Will Begin.. A Fantastic Journ...

"You two stick together

"You two stick together. That's the only way I'm letting you out in Diagon Alley on your own. I'll buy your books and you can pay me back when we get to Hogwarts again." Professor McGonagall said, handing them their backpacks. "Go have fun."

"Sirius.. That dream.. Don't you think it was a teensy bit weird?" Lily asked as she slid on her sunglasses, looking both ways before pushing the door of the train station open.

"Yes, Lily.." He whispered. "Very weird. Just owl Arabella and get this over with.. I feel very frightened of this place."

The two friends had every reason to feel darkness surrounding them. Someone was watching them. Someone that shouldn't have been there.

_Dear Bells-_

_Guess who's back in town? Sirius and me! Pack lightly for the adventure of a lifetime and meet us at Florean's... Wear something light and durable.. Remember deodorant and toothpaste- The whole she-bang, including your bike._

_ _

_L.I.E_

_I'm good at that, aren't I?_

_ _

_P.S. Bring money._

_ _

_Munguldus-_

_Hurry up with work and Floo over to Florean's in London. Meet Lily and me over there.. Pack lightly for a Marauder adventure and meet us for an ice cream.. You'll be gone for a while, so bring toothpaste and stuff.. Wear something like what we wore to the camp-out in the Forbidden Forest two years ago._

_ _

_S.A.B._

_ _

_P.S. Bring money._

_ _

_ _

"Why exactly are we changing at Florean's? Why didn't we do this at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked as they walked toward the ice cream shop.

"Because McGonagall would notice the difference between durable camping clothes and a Lily Evans shopping ensemble." Lily snapped. "Plus, I like this shirt and I haven't had a chance to wear it yet."

"Whatever." Sirius said quickly as they both darted into two different bathrooms.

Sirius emerged in a pair of khakis and a light gray t-shirt. He pulled his backpack closer to him and laced up his boots. This plan better work.

Lily came out in a black muscle tank and a pair of khaki shorts, with light socks and boots. She slid her sunglasses on and she and Sirius ordered.

"Charge it to Mister Snape's account." Lily said quickly when the bill came.

"And you would be?" The snooty waiter asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"His fiancée." Lily said with a smile, flashing the diamond engagement ring.

"Sorry.. So sorry.." The waiter said quickly, taking a bit of a bow. As soon as he left, Sirius smirked at her in amazement.

"Can't believe you still have that." Sirius said, shaking his head. "Bella better hurry up, her ice cream's going to melt."

"Speaking of the devil." Lily said as Arabella came rushing through in a purple t-shirt and black camping shorts. 

"Munguldus is on his way. He owled me about some adventure.. Is this a Marauder reunion?" She asked as her backpack was thrust onto the concrete next to her bike, taking a sip of her milkshake.

"Yep." Sirius said quickly.

"Ever heard of G.I.s?" Lily asked as Arabella finished her shake in one big gulp. Arabella nodded.

"Well, we're the G.E.s. The Gilded Elite." Sirius said simply. "If Munguldus doesn't show up in ten minutes, I'm eating his sundae."

Munguldus popped up. "What's this I here about a camp-out?"

"Guys, finish your desserts. We're going to the alley between Tom's pub and the record shop." Lily announced. Munguldus popped a top on the plastic dish of his sundae and they were ready to leave.

"Shh..." Lily whispered. "This is where my dad, my mom and I used to park our bikes before our family broke up. I'm the same size I was then.. Second year Christmas we biked down to Diagon Alley to pick up cool presents and that's where my dad announced it. My mom rushed home, my dad took a limo, and I've kept the bikes here all this time."

"Sirius.. This is your size. It was my dad's." She said, handing him one with a little extra seat for a small friend and a basket in the front. "Munguldus.. You're my mom's size."

Munguldus got a bike with an extra roomy basket in the front and a basket in the back where the additional seat on Sirius's bike had been.

"And this beaut was mine." Lily said as she pulled the cover off of a shiny green bike with a basket in back and a radio attached to the handlebars. "Let's find a jewelry shop to sell this baby."

They thought she was referring to the bike, but she flashed the engagement ring. "Perhaps one in Diagon Alley."

"Three thousand Galleons?" Sirius sputtered as they left the jewelry shop. The bag rested in Munguldus's basket.

When they got to a secluded spot in Diagon Alley, Lily split the money into two piles. "One's going to my vault. The other one will be divided up into six little bundles. For six Gilded Elite members." 

They caught on quickly. "Two hundred fifty Galleons each." They whispered in unison.

"And we'll be back in Hogwarts a week before my birthday, isn't that great?" Lily squealed. "We'll have to chip in for a Portkey, because we can't conjure one right now, it's summer, but, hey- It's only four Galleons!"

After dropping off the money at Lily's vault, the four biked over to the Ministry of Magic's office. Lily parked her bike.

"Hold on, I'll be right out." Lily said, taking off her helmet. "Hand it over, Sirius."

Munguldus and Arabella had already given their share, but Sirius was very protective. Eventually they managed to pry the Galleon out of his hand.

Twenty minutes later, Lily came out with the four Galleons looking depressed.

"What happened?" Arabella asked as Lily mounted her bike.

"They don't sell Portkeys to minors." Lily pouted as she began to bike again.

"Wait!" Sirius shouted after her. "Who says we're not adults?"

"Our birth certificates." Arabella said.

"Who weighs the least?" Munguldus asked, catching on.

"I do." Arabella said quickly with a confused look on her face. She and Lily had memorized the Quidditch team stats long ago. 

"And who's the shortest?" Sirius asked.

"Hello?" Lily shouted sarcastically. "Duh!"

"And how much make-up do you have between you?" Munguldus asked, cocking up an eyebrow.

"Eww! The James Eyebrow!" Lily shouted in mock fear, but listened to the plan anyway.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Arabella asked as Munguldus did her hair the way he had seen McGonagall do hers.

"Has a plan of Sirius's ever failed?" Munguldus asked in a mocking voice.

As Lily wiped another layer of powder on Arabella's face, she thought about it. "YES!"

"Well, this one isn't. It's fool-proof. Avery's working the Portkey section in five minutes." Munguldus said as he stuck a pin in Arabella's bun.

"Well, then it is fool-proof, as soon as we get a really long-" Lily said, but stopped in mid-sentence. Sirius came around the corner from 'Gargantuan Giants'.

"Hagrid told me about the place. Here, your robe." Sirius said as Arabella climbed on Lily's shoulders, crouching just a bit. Munguldus and Sirius struggled to put the robe over Arabella's head, but they were fine- The robes reached Lily's ankles.

"Now then, we need a Portkey to Godric's Hollow, now." Sirius commanded. "We'll watch your bikes."

"Okay, let's get this gunk off me." Arabella said as she jumped off of Lily's shoulders triumphantly. "Voila! The Portkey. Activates in fifteen minutes. Enough time to get this gunk off my face."

"Remember, sit on your bikes and touch the Portkey. A finger will do." Lily commanded when Arabella returned. They did so, and soon they were at the gazebo that Lily and James had posed at over six months before.

"That was a bumpy ride." Munguldus muttered as he wiped himself off. "What are we going to do with size XXXXXXL robes?"

"Make it into a tent, I guess.. What exactly are we going to do when all of us are together?" Arabella pondered aloud.

"First, let's head to the owl office." Lily said. "I'll explain on the way to James's house."

_Remus- Full moon just past and I know you're not really up to too much right now, but I need you to Floo on over to my house with your bike and some stuff for a camp-out.. Pack lightly._

_ _

_James._

_ _

_P.S. Bring money._

_ _

"Why did you put James's name?" Sirius asked as Lily attached the note to a really cheap owl, the fastest one.

"Hit two birds with one stone. Remus will be here in minutes, and that's all the time we need. And the reason why we're here is because we need to do this whole bonding thing- I'll completely explain at James's house." Lily said. "Let's go."

The owl flew out the window and the four had a half-hour bike trip across town ahead of them.

James was playing wall ball, again. His mom would yell at him soon for being so loud, or playing ball in the house.. Jennifer would come in (she had really grown up) yelling she wouldn't be able to get into some magic prep school if he didn't quit the racket. She was Ravenclaw-bound for sure. Or maybe Tara would come in and yell at him for no apparent reason. Probably had a date with that minister's son and needed complete concentration on her make-up.

There was yelling in the yard. Stupid little kids playing again, probably. That thought threw him off, and he missed the wall. He rushed over to his window to open it and yell at the kids when an explosion of green dust came out the door.

He poked his head out and saw four teensy but familiar figures on bikes below. To add to his confusion, Jennifer yelled up the stairs: "James! Remus is in our FIREPLACE with a _bike_ and a **backpack**!"

He poked his head back out the window and smiled. There was going to be fun ahead. Another look at what they were wearing and James caught on. In five minutes he was packed and he sailed down the stairs to get his bike.

The Gilded Elite had formed.


	39. And Lily Begins To Explain

"Okay, Lily

"Okay, Lily.. You said you'd explain." Sirius insisted as they parked at the gazebo in the park. "We're all here."

"Sirius- This has to do with those horrible dreams we keep having, the Gilded Elite and the dream I had last week. Guys, right before Jackie's death I had this dream. Sirius had a similar dream the day we came back from Napa. And about a week and a half ago, we shared the same dream. All these dreams had a flash of green light, slow playing of Moonlight Sonata, darkness, two loud crashes, and bodies glowing like angels. I looked it up, and these are some of the dreams of Voldemort's victims. Victims that have unchangeable fates. And in another dream, which we are both sure are real, we were among the six travelers on a great journey that would change the lives of many and put us in great danger. It did not say who the other four were, but there was natural instinct in the selection. So we caught up with Munguldus and Arabella in London and ran off from there. McGonagall will be furious, but we need to make this journey. No plans except to get to Hogwarts the day before my birthday." Lily said, not taking one breath. 

"Let me get this straight- We're going to bike across England funded on your engagement ring just because of a dream?" Arabella asked with an air of great surprise.

"Yes, of course." Munguldus replied. "Lily and Sirius are Marked, and gathering the four friends they trust the most shows a sign of not weakness, but loyalty and teamwork. This journey will prove to be as dangerous as the Napa Massacre, but not so quick."

Remus, Arabella and James stared openly at Munguldus.

"Lift your jaws, Bella, it's an unappealing look for your face." Lily commanded, lifting Arabella's chin up so her mouth was closed. "Shall we?"

"Where are we? Godric's Hollow is one of those unmappable spots like Hogwarts.." Arabella said, looking around. 

"Somewhere in Scotland. Not too far from Hogwarts, actually." Lily said matter-of-factly.

"On a map, Lily! Of course things are bigger in real life!" Sirius snapped. He hadn't had his sugar intake quite yet.

"Jesus Mary Mother of Joshepa! Don't need to snap her head off." Arabella told him. "You two have been incredibly quiet for an hour."

James and Remus looked guiltily at her. "Still trying to soak it in, I guess." Remus said, James nodding.

"Soak what in?" Lily asked as she removed her helmet. They were parking their bikes at some diner, Lil's.

"That this morning I was eating my sister's horrible omelets and right now I'm halfway across England." Remus said simply.

"Well, Lily's plans are always a bit much." Sirius said, shaking the sweat out of his hair.

"SPLASH ZONE!" Arabella shouted, and, in return, got most of the sweat on her.

"_MY_ plans are a bit much? Do you know how I had to remove Arabella's make-up from the Portkey scam? With three illegal curses!" Lily sputtered in a low voice. Sirius blushed, and Arabella just realized something.

"That was that tickly sensation on my cheeks?" She asked as they walked in, using Muggle locks on their bikes.

"What exactly are you talking about?" James asked as they sat down to order.

"This stupid plan of Sirius's to get us a Portkey to get to Godric's Hollow." Lily said.

"If it was so stupid, we wouldn't be here." Sirius replied. "Furthermore, now is not the time or the place to discuss this."

"Six chocolate milkshakes, please." Lily said, ignoring Sirius's comment. "Oh, here."

On long knit necklaces, there were six plastic i.ds with their likenesses on them.

"Read your name, age, occupation and school." She said with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Martine Larose, I'm sixteen years old, I'm an artist and I attend Meyer High School." Remus read slowly and mechanically.

"Hi! I'm Shirley Wright, I'm fifteen years old, I'm a cat-breeder's assistant and I attend Stonewall High!" Arabella said perkily.

"Hell-o. My name is... William Sidworth.. I am fifteen years old. I am a photographer.. I attend Meyer High School." Sirius read slowly and with difficulty.

"Hi. My name is Jim McKnight. I'm sixteen year's old and I'm a busboy at the local diner and I attend Stonewall High." Munguldus read from his card.

"Hello, my name is Harry Herrington. I'm sixteen years old and I work at the local library and I attend Queen Elizabeth Prep School." James read. "Harry? What kind of name is that?"

"My name is Elizabeth Richardson. I'm sixteen years old, unemployed and I attend Queen Elizabeth Prep School." Lily said proudly, ignoring James's comment, supposedly.

"Here you are. Six chocolate milkshakes. Are you ready to order?" The waitress asked.

"Certainly... Er.." Lily read the name on the plastic pin on her shirt pocket. "Jenny. I'll have the Lil-A-Burger with fries." 

James looked in awe of Lily and Sirius- They were closer than James had ever been with either of the two happily smiling teenagers. In fact, he was a bit jealous.

They ordered their food and James looked at Lily. That weird feeling he had gotten when Sirius called him came back.

Lily laughed loudly at Arabella and Sirius's joke, and as a new round of milkshakes came over, she spotted James's gaze.

She gave him a small smile before standing up to get her milkshake from the patient waitress.

"This is really, really good." Munguldus said, stuffing cheese fries in his mouth. "What do you call these things again?"

"Cheese fries, Munguldus.. Cheese fries." Lily said, stuffing a few in her mouth.

"How exactly are we paying for this?" Arabella asked. "We can't all walk out and get money to chip in.."

"You're creating problems that don't exist. We select one person that we pay back after leaving." Sirius said snappily.

"Sorry.." Arabella said meekly. Lily gave her an understanding smile- He had been like this since Easter.

"So exactly how long do we have to get back to Hogwarts?" Munguldus asked.

"No idea.. I don't know Lily's birthday.. Even though she's mentioned it.. Oh, I don't know.." Sirius began.

"Once.." Arabella said.

"Twice.." James said, taking part in the fun.

"A minute.." Remus remarked with a grin.

"All summer." Sirius finished, smirking at his accomplices.

Lily blushed and smiled. This summer was a healing process.. Though Sirius still needed closure. Maybe a trip to France at Christmas would cheer him up. Jackie had been happy in Paris.. Oh so happy.


	40. A Heated Discussion Cut Short

"So

"So.. How have you been doing?" James asked stiffly as the two sat on the curb, waiting for Arabella to pay the bill and Sirius and Munguldus to clean up that huge mess they made.

"Fine.. Just fine.." Lily muttered as she took a sip of her milkshake- In a to-go carton.

"Sirius tells me you have a new admirer." James tried to say casually, but, like the phone call a few days before, he failed miserably.

"_That's_ what you've been so silent about?" Lily asked in wonder. "The wonderful James Potter is jealous of somebody? The one that has all the girls secretly in whispers?"

"What are you talking about?" James sputtered in surprise. The last question caught him off-guard.

"Are you kidding me? All the girls are pestering me for information. 'Does he dance well?' 'Does he kiss nice?' 'What color underwear does he have on?' You're like the secret crush of every girl. They just won't admit it to your face." Lily said smoothly, congratulating herself. Never had changing the subject been so easy.

"So, what's his name?" James asked, his confidence slowly returning.

"Damn." Lily muttered.

Remus walked out of the diner to see Lily uncomfortably sitting on one edge of the curb, and James five feet away. He laughed to himself, and the two looked happy that there was someone else around.

"Remus!" Lily said perkily, jumping up from her seat. "Tell me how the mess started, it should be a lovely campfire story."

Remus looked over her shoulder and saw James send him a pleading look. 

"Well, Munguldus dropped something when Sirius came over with another round of chocolate shakes, and Munguldus moved a bit, and Sirius tripped over Munguldus. Fortunately, we had six to-go cups ready, and the magic in us got most of it in there, but Munguldus, the floor, and Sirius's shoes are covered in it." Remus lied, knowing the mess was simply a diversion. (A/N: Ann, here comes what you requested). The stuff that they were putting James and Lily through..

"It's five in the afternoon, we should find a place to camp." James said stiffly as Arabella and Sirius came out, Munguldus not too far behind.

"Whatever." Lily said off-handedly. "Let's just get moving."

"Isn't this place gorgeous?" Lily asked as they selected a place to camp- Some back field of some abandoned farmhouse owned by the government.. They mowed it once or twice a year.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." James grumbled. Munguldus and Arabella were working on making the huge robe into a decent tent. Sirius and Remus had paired off to go get food from some little general store a mile away, and now James felt he was stuck with Lily- Again.

"What is your **_problem_**?" Lily demanded. "Lately you've been so grumpy."

"You want to know what's wrong with me? Huh?" He asked in a dangerously low voice. At this moment, she was scared of him. "You think you've had it bad, being the show of everything? You think I broke your heart? You think I screwed up big time? You think I'm ignorant, oblivious to the opposite sex's infatuation with me? You think I don't understand at ALL how you felt after Easter hols? Well, you know what, Lily? You're wrong." He said coldly, stalking off.

Lily panted and huffed, but she caught up with him. "What the bloody hell do you mean, sputtering a bit of your anger and walking off before you get closure?"

"Lily. You were hardly a show, or hardly someone cast off in the shadows. I've been reciting Latin since I was eleven to my stepfather's colleagues. My mother was so in love with him that the exact moment I made my stepfather look good, she adored me. The next minute I was thrust in the shadows, to be taken care of by some nurse or Tara. When I got into Hogwarts, my mother was thrilled. My stepfather felt deprived of attention and he started hitting her, and me. Fortunately, he soon joined the Dark Lord and was too busy to be around. He died last year. And about the Embassy Ball- Emotions have never been my strong point. I will not lie to you and say that I felt good when I left, but I had to lie. Emotions are weak points. For your information, I was not kicked out of several schools like the rumors I've heard, some of which have been spread into your own entourage. Thought you'd go for the bad boy today, didn't you, Lil? You know who I lost that was my mentor and my best friend? My dad. To some stupid Death Eater that had him killed off. And about the whole thing about ignoring the affections of the opposite sex- The only reason I do that is because I only care about the affections of one of them." He said, with anger, turmoil, pain and tears. "Happy? Your life so imperfect now?"

He stomped off. After ten minutes of bickering with herself (that seemed like hours) she ran after him, and, again, caught up.

"You know what, James? We should just be acquaintances. In the same house, doing a lot of similar things, just not friends.. We seem to drive each other to an edge." She offered politely, sticking out her hand. "We obviously don't click as automatically as we thought we did."

"Was it we who thought that, Lil? Or was it you, chasing another fantasy of falling in love than realizing your theory about Shakespeare is right- It's never as extreme or as convenient as everything seems." James spat, shaking her hand with a hard grip. "Au revoir, mademoiselle."


	41. Chicken

"That was uncomfortable

"That was uncomfortable." Sirius said as they slowly watched their friends storm off. "Again with another plan?"

"Dammit, why do we have to have friends in such huge denial?" Remus asked with frustration.

"I'll take that as a no." Sirius said meekly. "It probably wouldn't work anyway."

They both shrugged and brought the groceries to the camp site.

Arabella looked up from her sewing to see Lily huff over and join her at the log stool. James huffed behind her, sitting down on the other side of Munguldus. At the same time, the two opened their mouths and shouted at their unfortunate seat mates:

"Lily Evans is a big jerk!"

"James Potter is a big jerk!"

"Don't you feel the love out here?" Munguldus said in a fake Trelawney accent.

"Yes, yes, yes.. Don't do the cross stitch, embroider. It tends to last longer." Arabella snapped, readjusting her reading glasses. And again, Lily and James shouted at their unfortunate seat mates:

"Are you LISTENING to me?"

And this was the scene perfect David Morales and his brother Diego walked in on.

Sirius and Remus walked closer and closer to the campsite, finding two very strange strangers watching their friends fight. Munguldus had gotten up from his seat to pitch the finished tent.

"David! What are you doing here?" Lily exclaimed happily, jumping up from her spot by the fire, and giving Arabella 'V for Victory' looks.

"Diego and I were taking a few Apparation tests and we ran off-course. Lucky that we got so close to heaven, though, huh?" David said, James pretending to hurl. Also, James was imitating David's insincerity, looking like somebody on an Australian soap opera.

"Where are my manners? I have to introduce you to my fri.." She shot a glance in James's direction, while he was still pretending to hurl. "Some of my camping mates. The blonde Quidditch beauty with her glasses on is Arabella, Munguldus is the intelligent, brilliant guy pitching up the tent, Sirius over there is the magnificent prankster and Remus the wonderful, amazing guy that handles a curse like a kitten, and the guy pretending to vomit is.. Ugh.. James." Lily said perkily, except for when the subject of James came up. "Care to join us tonight?"

"Sorry, we can't.. But we have time for a nice little dinner. Arabella, care to join us?" Diego asked sweetly, making Arabella blush. She nodded, and both girls went to get their stuff and change in the tent.

"We'll be back in a few hours, need to tell the Apparation department that we're not landing on some old bloke in Australia."

James continued his 'dramatic reenactment' of his vomiting acts.

"So who's the David guy?" Arabella asked as she dug through her bag for something decent to wear.

Lily pulled on a shiny black skirt. "A Ravenclaw seventh year acquaintance of mine- He's sent me everything imaginable on this earth. He's just so adorable! But.."

"How on earth is there a but?" Arabella sputtered. Lily looked guilty. "You're not over James yet!" Arabella accused in a low voice, pointing at Lily.

"Don't point that finger at me!" Lily said with a hint of fear in her voice, so much that it squeaked.

"You're not over him yet!" Arabella said again, a little louder.

"Shush! They'll hear you!" Lily said as she buttoned her whimsical blue blouse- The one with ruffles on the neckline. "I am not over James yet.. But will you shut up about it? As if this trip is hard enough with him hating me and me running into my number one fan, he doesn't have to know!"

"Fine, fine.. Lavender top or white blouse?" Arabella asked, mumbling.

Lily put a string of pearls around her neck. "Lavender top, brings out your femininity."

As Arabella pulled the top over her head, Lily struggled with her shoes. "What about Diego, got any dirt on him?" 

"Nothing really- They're twins.. And to be honest with you, for all I know, they've got identical personalities, not looks." Lily replied as Arabella pulled up her curls and got her white velvet pants out.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" She pondered as she snipped the tag of the white pants.

"Knowing David, somewhere fancy." Lily said with a smile.

"You are so using him as a rebound dude." Arabella said solemnly. "It's not even funny."

"He's nice.. I'd go out with him again and again.. But he's so.. Boring.. Every time we've eaten somewhere, it's been macaroni and butter, white, dry, tasteless chicken and water. Can't the guy get a real appetite?" Lily said, unaware that Arabella was half-listening, half-concentrating on Lily's hair.

"The rugged look has to go. Some people would never believe this is what you look like before a clean-up." She said after a few minutes. She set to work, and half an hour later, Lily's hair was in an elegant bun with curling tendrils around her face.

And in ten minutes, the two glamour girls were sitting on towels on logs by a dieing fire.

"You look nice." Sirius said to Arabella. "But lose the perfume."

"The only scent you've ever liked, Sirius, is the scent of a dog.." Lily hissed, making Sirius blush.

"You look nice, too, Lily.." Remus said, adding another log to the fire. "Okay, guys, we're running low on logs. Either two of us go and chop wood or we give up our seats."

For the rest of the time they were there, Munguldus and Sirius, against their protests, ("You guys wouldn't go chop wood." Remus explained) sat in the dirt.

David and Diego arrived on matching red mopeds promptly, dressed in black ("Major fashion mistake!" Munguldus muttered to Sirius in a quiet, yet high-pitched voice, imitating his employer. Sirius stifled a laugh.). Lily and Arabella climbed on, and Sirius approached the twins.

"Ya'll take care of my little babies, you hear? I want them back by eleven, we gots a long day of riding ahead of us, now.." Sirius said, pretending to cry and hugging both the girls. "My little girls have been growin' up."

With another sniff from Sirius, they were off, and James was the one covered in dust.

The next morning, Sirius made his famous Completely-Chocolate-Covered-Chocolate-Chip-And-Chocolate-Sauce-And-Chocolate-Syrup-Waffles, as well as some chocolate milk, and the girls came out later than everyone else, with messy hair and shiny pajamas.

"Morning." Arabella grunted as she got herself a plate.

"Scoot over." Lily said grumpily to James, then starting to shove her face with waffles.

"How was the date last night?" Remus asked.

At the same time, Lily and Arabella made their answers.

"Wonderful." Arabella said with a dreamy smile.

"Horrible." Lily grunted.

"What's wrong with her?" Munguldus pondered as he made a seat on the ground.

"He ordered the same thing again." Arabella said, making James, Munguldus and Remus gain a puzzled look on their faces.

"Macaroni and butter, white, dry, tasteless chicken and water." Lily and Sirius said at the same time.

"What's wrong with that?" Remus asked before Sirius handed him a cup of chocolate milk. "Thanks."

"He has no real appetite, I told her that from the start!" Sirius said. "You're welcome."

"And... Your point is?" Munguldus asked, getting up for another waffle.

"Oh, Lily is just looking for excuses to break up with him. She's nursing a crush on someone else.." Arabella said absentmindedly, waving a shocked Lily off.

"Really?" Sirius and Remus said mischievously, dragging out the word to its full extent.

"Who?" James demanded, speaking up for the first time.

There was silence except for bugs and the scraping of plates.

"Um.. No one.." Arabella muttered as Lily shot glares at her.

"This will be the topic of the summer.." Munguldus said with an air of Marauder charm.

"And I'll never hear the end of it." Lily muttered as the new Marauders rubbed their hands together with glee.

Two huge, gorgeous owls flew in with chocolates and flowers. Arabella was delighted and Lily groaned.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sirius asked glumly, helping himself to another waffle.


	42. A Cutesy Photo That Shows Old Wounds Hea...

"Lily's got a cru-ush

A/N: Here you go- Answers.. Parselmouth Granger- It is summer. Sirius and Lily stayed behind at Hogwarts. And now they're on this whim, taking a nonsense trip with their friends. Thanks to the following people for reviews- Lita of Jupiter, Devonny Stratton, pyrochild, Lilychik, Ice Angel, Snow Flurry, Cloudzi, Jinskid3, Dee-Vine, Cheeky Witch |=P, phoenix_vs_crazy_snow, Silvestria, mystikalolo, ~*~THE_L/J_Fanatic~*~, Lilly_Dee, care, darah, christine, AMB3R, stellar chica, Trista_Setsuna, Diana Joy, Someone2 and Krazy Kris, legally blonde, Marie, christy, Davita, *~Sweet Angel~*, christina, mystic_blue17, Moon Warrior, Tiger Lily, The Hairy One, suze, Athena-chan, Padfoot Lover, fdsaf, Pheonixx, Jody, the great bumblebee, Bella, Avadriz, Draco Crazed Teenage Girl, ~*aNoNyMoUs*~, ~meg~, madrabbit, Annabelle Peach, Rachie. V., Hedwig, amy~*, Lily_Potter, SilentPegasus, Emma lOu, milkyweed, aloha!, AVK, CATHY, Peresphone Malfoy, PotterGurlie, golden phoenix, Phoenix Avalon, Moloko Vellocet, ashlee, Sapphire, TigerLily, Sapamfa, ~SarcasticPrincess~ Molly, dora virtuoso7, Lady Lily, Parselmouth, WolfieGrl, kurikurei, Channy Hoppy, Jemmy, Ruriko, IceAmythest, Fallen Darkness, pheonixGrl***, Dragon88, Lily, MoonWitch, White Butterfly, BabBlGrl, Taz, ::Mika aka Digiberry::, Kitty Kat, Dark Mark, Jelly Belly, amy~*, Kitty Kat16, Godric Gryffindor, *Britz*, ann, ~*Hermione*~ , medea, Pampered Tigeress, Rachel Granger-Gryffindor, and everyone else I might have missed.. Thanks a bunch!

"Lily's got a cru-ush! Lily's got a cru-ush!" Sirius, Remus and Munguldus sang for nearly fifty miles. Lily pedaled faster, ahead of them, hitting Arabella square on her stomach every time she tried to catch up.

Finally, Lily got sick of Sirius's off-key singing and turned on the radio. It found the nearest signal (she had Charmed it way back) and she got Free's 'Alright Now'.

That got them to shut up and sing along.. It was practically their anthem whenever they could listen to it. Sirius did his version of an air guitar while (supposedly) still pedaling. Only then did they start taunting her again.

"Come on, Lily.. I didn't mean to.. It slipped." Arabella said as she caught up.

"Just like my fist is going to slip a little to the left and hit you in your stomach, _again_." Lily snapped, pedaling faster. The next signal picked up Abba's 'Fernando'.

"There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright.." Munguldus sang..

"Ah-Lilee.." Remus and Sirius crooned.

"There was something there for you and whatever his name is, for liberty.." Munguldus continued.

"Ah-Lilee.."

"Though you never thought that you could lose, what's for romance? If you could do the same again, you would, my friend.."

"Ah-Lilee."

About fifty miles later, they stopped at a gas station, and while Lily took an extra long time to lock up her bike, James came up to her.

"Psst.. Lily." He whispered, like he was some freaky secret agent.

"What, James?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Lily's got a cru-ush.. Lily's got a cru-ush." He whispered softly in her ear, leaving before she could punch him out. She locked up her bike and ran off after the boys good-naturedly. Except James.

"Oh well.. They're going to tease me for the rest of the summer anyway." She said in a tired voice. "Might as well play along."

An hour later, she was singing along to Fernando.

"There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright.. None of your business.. There was something there for you and me, for liberty, none of your business.. Though we never thought that we could lose.. So much for romance.. If I could do the same again, I would, my friend.. None of your business." She sang whole-heartedly, sticking her tongue out at a curious Sirius (A/N: RHYMES!!!).

"So, who is he?" Munguldus asked as they settled down at a new campsite, Lily making a bit of vegetable soup over the fire.

"None of your business." Arabella said while Lily said at the same time-

"Guess."

"Hogwarts?" James asked first as Lily served everyone soup and toast.

"Yes."

"Seventh year?" Sirius suggested.

"Nope.."

"Sixth year?" Munguldus pondered aloud.

"Will be." Lily said as she sat down. She began to eat her soup.

"Slytherin." Remus said disgustedly.

"Eww!!!!" Lily exclaimed from her soup.

"Hufflepuff?" James offered.

"He'd be offended if you called him that." Lily said simply. Arabella began to snort into her soup. Lily shot her a glare.

"Ravenclaw." Remus declared confidently.

"Not really."

"Gryffindor!" Sirius exclaimed with glee.

"Good night, gentlemen.. Later, Bella." Lily said, getting up and putting her bowl into the tub of hot water, then going into the tent and turning off the lantern inside.

"Gryffindor sixth year! I wonder who _that_ could be. There's what, eleven of us?" James asked, ladling himself more soup and taking a spoonful.

"Thirteen." Remus corrected.

"Didn't that break a record or something?" Munguldus asked as Arabella bid them good night.

"Yeah.." Sirius muttered. "Let's narrow that down a bit, shall we?"

"Not Remus." Munguldus said quickly.

"Or Ronan.. Bella's on-and-off boyfriend." James added.

"Nor Sirius or Munguldus." Remus added.

"Nor James." Sirius said, as if that were obvious.

"I beg pardon! She could still like me!" James said in offense. "But, on second thought.. She did call me a big fat jerk, didn't she?"

The three boys nodded so silently the bugs made more noise.

"You guys are not that close!" Arabella shouted from inside their tent.

"That's still eight.. But she said she had a thing against in-house dating.. Too complicated, she said." Sirius stated.

"So whoever it is, they won't really date her.. They'd know she was interested already, wouldn't they?" James asked. "This love-tangle thingy is too much for my head. I'm off to bed."

The remaining boys began to clean up, and by the dimming fire, Sirius whipped something out of his backpack.

"Psst.. Guys- Check it out." Sirius whispered to them. It was the photo he hadn't given to the yearbook of James in Godric Hollow. The one where Lily was sitting in James's lap with her sweater-covered arms around his neck, on the gazebo steps. They looked at each other lovingly, and the three boys awwed.

"Isn't that sweet?" Munguldus whispered.

"Only peace and quiet we'll be getting out of them!" Remus said instantly. The three boys muffled laughs.

"It is cute, though, isn't it?" Sirius asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah." The other two boys agreed after a beat or two. It was really sweet.


	43. A Bad Day For Lily

Lily smiled as she opened the tent flap just a crack

Lily smiled as she opened the tent flap just a crack. The sun was rising, and it was almost her birthday. She was with some of the people she loved most, and nothing could ruin this. Nothing at all.

She put on a pair of sandals to start making breakfast. She stepped on a branch or two (very uncomfortable, by the way) and as she began to boil water over the dieing fire, she found that finally, she felt normal. No longer the little princess on a pedestal.

"Ow!" Lily exclaimed as Sirius rubbed the 'stingy stuff' on her scrape. This day was not going as planned. Already Lily had gotten a scrape, burned her own breakfast, and had completely forgotten some secretive thingy that she would only tell Arabella about at the campsite. After they had pedaled sixty miles away from it. "What could make this day worse?"

"You shouldn't have asked that." Munguldus said as she climbed back on her bike, her knee bandaged.

"Why?" Arabella asked as she took a bite of her apple. Munguldus was so.. Trelawney.

"It's naturally a bad omen." Munguldus said after a few minutes.

"Her day can't be worse. She's really messed up." James said, making Lily wish she had punched him back at the last stop.

"Oh, David! What a surprise!" Lily said half-heartedly. David Morales was on his moped, next to them. James pretended to vomit again and the boys (and Lily) laughed.

"You don't look so good." He said after motioning for them to park.

"Well, it's been a long, long (she dragged this word out, glaring pointedly at James) day." Lily said, growing less patient by the minute.

"See? It's a bad omen." Sirius whispered to Arabella, who looked like Trelawney had just told her that her husband was to be Lucius Malfoy.

"Why did I ever go out with you?" David asked himself aloud. This made the entire group stop laughing and look up.

"I mean, you don't look so glamorous at what, one in the afternoon? What will happen if we have kids or we paint the house or something? You would be a wreck and I'd never be able to show you to my friends!" He exclaimed, again, to himself. Lily's jaw dropped.

"Ex-Excuse me?" She asked slowly. "Could you repeat that?"

"You are hardly what I thought you were." He said.

"So, I'm not the glamorous little perfection that you thought you'd win over with all sorts of gifts, huh? I'm not the trophy you'd shine every now and then and put back on the shelf, huh?" She asked a dangerously low voice.

"Yep, that about sums it up. I think we should see other people." He said, climbing back on his bike and speeding off.

"That has to hurt." Remus said after a few minutes. "Being dumped by somebody you don't even like. Cold."

"What's worse- I didn't even tell him he has an appetite like a zebra!" Lily sputtered angrily.

"A zebra?" James and Munguldus asked cautiously.

"Lily, sweetie, are you alright?" Sirius asked.

"He's really messed my head up." Lily admitted, rubbing her temples. "Can we get back to Hogwarts now?"

"Okay, I'm hot, I'm sweaty, I'm hungry, I'm in pain, and I've been dumped by somebody I didn't even like. In fact, I don't think I knew what I was doing exactly. **Now** can this day get any worse, Munguldus?" She asked exasperatedly as they climbed up a hill.

"Nope, not that I know of." He said as they passed a sign that they simply ignored out of tiredness.

**_To Hogwarts Lake: Warning: HUGE DROP TO HOGWARTS LAKE. If You Can Read This, You Are of Magical Blood!!!!_**

"Finally, we've reached the top." James said, panting. 

"Yeah, all we need to do now is bike." Arabella said with a hint of victory in her voice.

And they did.

**_SPLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

"And where were your wonderful prophetic powers then, oh wise one?" Lily snapped as the giant squid took Remus, Sirius and Arabella on their bikes back to shore.

"I'm sorry! I'm not a fully trained prophet!" He exclaimed as the squid came back for their turn.

"What are you going to tell us next, that Lily and I are going to get married and have a kid?" James scoffed. Munguldus looked hit with a bright idea.

"Actually.." He began, but they both turned to snap at him.

"Shut up."

As soon as they got to the castle, Lily was placed in Dumbledore's office to discuss the trip and the rest went off to the tower to set up her birthday party. Dumbledore was quite amused with the story, and very relieved this wasn't the dangerous prophesied journey that possibly awaited them.. Or was it? 

"You can never tell with these supposed prophecies. Sometimes you're being spied on throughout your journey, and sometimes you are heartbroken.. But you always learn something. Tell me, Lily. What did you learn?" He asked intently. Lily moved about in her chair, making squishy noises with her wet clothes.

"I suppose the journey has actually been this entire past school term, and the prophecy came late. Or just unannounced." She said with a knowing smile. James was going to love being a prophecy.. Trelawney would openly adore him. "I suppose I've lightened up for everyone, not just my close friends. And not for a reason or a person, just a little of both."

"That's very wise, Lily. Indeed James is a bit of a prophecy. In a way he saved you from being the uptight person you might have been, a la McGonagall, but you aren't any longer. You know how to openly have fun. However, in return you gave James some memories he will never forget. Some memories that will prevent him from ever doing things he won't want to have done if he's sitting in Azkaban."

Arabella popped her head through the doorway. "Lily, we're ready for you."

Lily and Professor Dumbledore smiled as Arabella escorted her out the door to get into her party clothes (translation: Into clothes that aren't soaking wet and return Lily into the glamour mode that a certain Mr. David Morales enjoyed so very, very much.). All Lily could do was smile. And it certainly was a good feeling.


	44. A Bad Day With Many Rewards

Many of Lily's Ravenclaw friends had joined the surprise, they tiptoed slowly behind Lily and Arabella on the way to the Gry

Many of Lily's Ravenclaw friends had joined the surprise, they tiptoed slowly behind Lily and Arabella on the way to the Gryffindor Tower. So many thoughts filled Lily as she began to notice her heart was beating faster than a professional Seeker's best flying record.

"Okay... What if he smiles at me? I tend to go real gummy with my smiles, as if I'm showing off dentures or something.. Don't worry about that now, Lily.. He's probably only here because he has to be.. He hates you.. Push it out of your mind.. **You DON'T like him**." Her mind told her.

Arabella led her into a small room to change and so that Arabella could do her hair. It was probably the prefects' bathroom, Lily couldn't tell. She was so tired and fed up with her day she just wanted to go to bed. Arabella pulled Lily's top hairs away from her face and left the rest of it down and helped her into a pair of whimsical blue pants with the waistline and the leg cuffs trimmed with large, round, shiny silvery blue trinkets, and similar trinkets were all over a sparkly yellow muscle tank. There was an inch wide piece of blue velvet with a round silver charm that found it's way to Lily's neck, and a lovely pair of whimsical blue sandals found their way onto Lily's feet. Tired, Lily was lead closer and closer to the tower.

Have you ever had those feelings you couldn't explain and wouldn't admit? Like something hit you so fast that you knew had been there, but never knew exactly where it had been?

Unfortunately, this feeling is usually love. And this feeling, unfortunately, had hit Lily like a brick.

She had almost fallen asleep on the walk over to the tower, but she woke up almost instantly with one glance around the room.

Among the outrageous (and weird) party decorations was the best gift of all. James. Dressed from head to toe in black, mostly leather... Drool, drool. He smiled, and Lily's too-gummy smile returned to her mouth unintentionally as he began to walk towards her.. Or so she thought.

James walked straight past Lily and towards Sarah Barnes, who was dragged along by her brother Sean. James greeted her with a hug, and Lily's pasted smile recovered itself quickly. James, like most males, didn't exactly realize what he was doing. Lily's heart stopped for nearly three seconds, and she stood there frozen for a moment, and then she snapped back. "You're an idiot, Evans... _You DON'T like him!_ What happened to that?" She asked herself quietly. "He probably doesn't even have a gift."

A four-tiered cake rested on a stool in the center of the room, each with four shining stick candles, and a great big sixteen candle on the top, with piles of presents all over, confetti making the figures around the room unclear, streamers and balloons were floating about everywhere and everything went into slow motion. The pasted smile disappeared and a glowing one reappeared. She softly held her hair away from her face and blew out all the candles. She closed her eyes and a vision came to her.

It was a little girl in a pretty white party dress with shiny blue trimmings. Perhaps she was eight, maybe nine. This girl was always small for her age, but never mistaken for any other age but older.. Many thought she was a midget eleven year old. Her hair, part of it brought up into a big shiny blue bow, rested on her shoulders and went down her back... Red curls.. Bright red-orange curls. She stood on a velvet-stool, blowing out the candles on her small cake, perched high. Her mother and father stood nearby, but not together. Another woman, a blonde woman, stood nearby to lead the little girl to the big 'fantastic' birthday party awaiting her. With little rich children like herself. She wanted to stay inside the conservatory and dance around the room to the faint music outside, and she was being dragged away.. By the blonde woman. Her smile disappeared. Lily looked straight into her eyes. They were a dazzling green. They hurt to look at after a while. The door to the terrace slammed and Lily snapped back to reality.

Remus, Sean Barnes and Lily's friend Nick all chipped in to buy her a special edition of Quidditch Through The Ages: Quidditch With Flair that was small enough to fit in a handbag. That was a laugh.

Arabella bought her a huge, gaudy tiara with words engraved in the inside, _Princess Lily P. _No one else understood it, but Lily smiled and instantly put it on. She looked like a dork, but a glamorous dork nonetheless.

Sarah gave her an old set of pantyhose. Lily threw it into the fire when no one was looking (except James, she didn't know he was watching, but he was, with a laugh dieing to escape his lips).

James presented her with a book, a scarlet crushed velvet-colored copy of The Little Princess, with Lily's name embroidered inside the fluffy cover in gold, as well as a quote, also embroidered in gold. She read it. _"Whatever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside, It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."_Lily looked at James with awe. He had quoted one of her favorite authors, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and presented her with the book it came from. He looked away, not used to her admiring smile.

Her friends in Ravenclaw (Mia, Coco, Clarisse, Leola, Diana, and Jennifer) each made everything they gave her. Mia made Lily her Halloween costume, Coco and Clarisse made the dress and the dress robes for Yuletide, Leola and Diana made her what they called the 'Quidditch Captain Special' and Jennifer bought shoes and accessories for each ensemble. Lily began laughing as Sirius started releasing his version of silly string. There were three boxes left.

Munguldus selected one of them and presented her with a set of sketches of the past year, framed in slick white frames like the ones in her room. Lily smiled and moved on to Sirius's present, which read on the package: _For your eyes only._

So, as the cake began to get cut, and James whisked away the last package for some odd reason. Lily went to the corner of the room, pulling some silly string out of her hair.

In a silver photo frame with the word Princess engraved on the top, there was a photo. Of two people sitting on the steps of a gazebo in a park in Godric's Hollow. This picture made her entire life disappear and made her watch the smiling faces. She sneaked off to her room and put the frame on her desk.

The party was havoc, at least to McGonagall. There was music, dancing, silly string and fireworks, as well as cake. All on McGonagall's list of a ruined party. James watched as Lily danced with Sirius in the goofiest way with silly string and some cake in her hair, laughing so hard she fell over. He took the present with him as he climbed the stairs to her room. After about six hours, Lily started walking up with all her presents as her friends started to clean up.

"James!" Lily exclaimed as she switched on the light. She put down the packages and smiled, absentmindedly removing a firework from her hair (the one that never did go off). "What are you doing up here?"

"Giving you your present." He said, glancing at the photo on her desk. "Interesting room."

"Thanks." She said with discomfort, hoping she wouldn't say something stupid like, 'Can I eat your shirt?' "Didn't you already give me a present?"

"I did, but this one is for you. That one was for the public you. There's a difference, you know."

"You are really starting to get on my nerves."

He pulled the dowel and led her up the stairs. She loved the cool air that was up on top of the tower, and the sparkling stars on a bed of black velvet.

"Here." He said, thrusting his package into her hands. She opened it, and perhaps a million little balls of light floated around her, darting everywhere.

"They only stay where you want them to, and they change color, see?" He asked, proud of himself. Right now there were a few that were light blue, a few that were pale pink, and a lot that were pure blue. They floated around her, caressing her fingers and tickling her. She was in awe, watching them flow like a river and watching them dart about.

"Happy Birthday, Lily Evans." He said quietly as he went back down the stairs and back to the party.


	45. Animagi, Uniforms and a Heated Arguement

When Lily woke up, all that remained of the party were her presents and Sirius

When Lily woke up, all that remained of the party were her presents and Sirius. She woke up bright and early, and supposed Sirius wasn't expecting her at all. He was studying.

Not studying subjects he needed to study on, oh no! He was reading up on Animagi. Transfiguration had always been a prime interest of the Marauders (all except Remus, who had a preference for D.A.DA). Arabella, Sirius, Peter and James would always huddle over a stupid Transfiguration book, night and day.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked quietly, but nonetheless Sirius jumped. A piece of parchment fell to the floor.

"Arabella- Unofficial member, does not receive nickname.. However CAT will be code name, or Crookshanks.. She said she had a preference for bow-legged cats.. Or maybe that's just the fact that her cats in Transfiguration always came out that way... Ronan- Unofficial member, does not receive a nickname, and his incomplete Animagi and his love for astronomy makes him Ronan the centaur. Munguldus.. Unofficial member.. White rabbit (some obsession with Jefferson Airplane, Alice In Wonderland and the tall tale that rabbits symbolize witchcraft or something). Peter- Official Marauder, Wormtail. I think the rat thing is a bit freaky, but okay. James- Official Marauder, Prongs.. Where am I supposed to file this information? The Marauder's Hand Bible? Me­- Official Marauder, Padfoot." Lily read to herself, Sirius not even trying to get the parchment away from her. "Interesting.. Arabella's an ugly cat, Peter is a freaky rat, James is a stag and you are a shaggy dog?"

Sirius's jaw graced the floor. "H-h-how did you- What did you- How do you know?"

"Remus told me." She said simply. "We have to get fitted for our uniforms today."

"I don't get that whole uniform thing."

"Do you remember the days of bright orange and green tank tops?"

"Aahh!"

Sirius and Lily went into Hogsmeade to be fitted, and as Sirius put it, they were bored out of their minds.

McGonagall had chosen something simple. The boys' choices were: light-gray/blue sweater (long-sleeved or vest, each with the Hogwarts crest on the upper part of the left side of the chest), a diagonally-striped tie with your two house colors on it, a white oxford shirt (long or short sleeves), a pair of slacks (charcoal gray or navy) with loafers, white, navy, gray or black socks, and, of course, Hogwarts robes, navy blazers with the Hogwarts crest outside of school. Girls had similar choices. First years wore charcoal gray or navy jumpers with either long-sleeved or short-sleeved white oxford blouses (with the ruffle collar), navy or charcoal gray stockings with black Mary Janes, or charcoal gray or navy knee-highs. Their only choice of sweater was the long-sleeved school sweater. The rest of the girls had options similar to the boys, except skirts in either charcoal gray or navy, short or long (though the short ones had to be a certain length) and hosiery had options between socks, stockings, knee-highs or tights in the school colors, no tie nor the blazer. Sirius and Lily selected two of each of their options.

"That had to be the most boring shopping trip I've ever been on." Lily said exasperatedly as they sat down in their new uniforms in Professor Dumbledore's office. Lily's skirt was too-short for the regulation, and she wore short little white bobby socks, her long-sleeved blouse (with the ruffle collar) and her sweater vest, sipping her chocolate shake through a straw. "What does Dumbledore want?"

"He said we're representing the school in options for some sort of casual Friday with a dress code." Sirius drawled as he leaned back in his chair. "Hello, Fawkes."

"Since when has Dumbledore been so uptight about what we wear?" Lily asked before disposing of her chocolate shake (or rather, the container it was in).

"Since half the Hufflepuffs near you in Divination failed their classes on account of a set of rather large distractions that came in a set of two." Sirius said sharply, making Lily laugh. "However, it's the board of directors that wants us in uniform- Says it brings more of a dignified and organized look to the school. They are referring to the fact that we aren't half as disciplined as the Beauxbatons students."

Lily simply scowled.

"So what kind of casual could we go for?" Lily asked, trying to keep a straight face. "Under the dress code, of course."

"Of course. I'm thinking more comfortable shirts for the guys, bag the blazers and the sweaters and the ties and allow clean tennis shoes." Sirius said solemnly, making Lily want to laugh so much more. "You?"

"High heels, bag the sweaters and more comfortable blouses and I'm fine." Lily said quickly. "I think we've made reasonable demands.. And if they add uniforms to the extra curriculum (excluding Quidditch), Casual Friday dress will be fine."

"Flying lessons should be tennis shoes, comfortable black pants and a comfortable shirt with the Hogwarts logo on it. Deal?" Sirius said as serious as a business man.

"Deal."

"Quidditch practices, however, should be a little more loose. Whatever you want to wear within the dress code." Lily said simply. "Deal?"

"Deal."

So the two set to work on the dress code, arguing over and over until a piece of parchment emerged (with a lot of cross-outs and blotches of ink) with the dress code.

"So, Lily, Sirius, have you come to an agreement?" Dumbledore asked as he walked in. "We're sending out the requirements and the dress code for the Casual Friday and extra curriculum."

"Yes, excepting for one thing." Sirius stated.

"About all that Quidditch merchandise we sold last year.." Lily began.

"We were just wondering.. Not that you should feel pressured or anything..." Sirius muttered.

"We think that the blazers are a bit much for walking around the school. There should be an option of what sweaters or jackets we wear.. And besides a dress code, walking around in a uniform for just getting dinner is ridiculous." Lily admitted slowly. 

Dumbledore stared at the two intensely. "Agreed. Why don't you two go get your homework done.. I know for a fact that you aren't even half-completing some of your assignments." 

Sirius and Lily both wore uncomfortable smiles and went back to the tower.

"Does this seem kind of odd to you?" Lily asked uncomfortably as they both sat at the long, empty house table.

"Yes. I'm sitting in uniform next to one of my best friends and this hall isn't as small as it seems when you arrive like a normal person." Sirius snapped. "This whole 'we can't go to London' thing bites."

"So.."

"So.."

"Hmm.."

"Yeah.."

The rumble of carriage wheels and the splashes of little boats outside made Lily and Sirius look up and rejoice. Their friends were back.

Sarah Barnes was quite proud of herself. She was blonde, beautiful, and wearing James's blazer (claiming she was too cold, but honestly, she and James clicked!). He had his arm around her and everything when they got out of the train.

"You want to come and join us in our carriage?" He asked, even though Peter, Ronan, Munguldus and Remus silently (but obviously) objected.

"Sure." Sarah chirped, taking one blonde curl and twisting it around her finger. The four friends of James thought he would be entranced by her then, but he did nothing but stare out the window on the way to the castle.

Waiting for them at the front doors was Sirius. James broke away from Sarah and the group to give Sirius a 'manly' hug.

"Where's Lily, Padfoot?" Ronan asked immediately. This perky Sarah chick was getting on his nerves. He needed pessimism and he needed it now!

"Inside. She finally got Walkman to work." Sirius muttered. At Sarah, Ronan and Remus's confused looks, he simply said, "A Muggle invention that hasn't come out yet that allows you to privately listen to your music on the go. She Charmed it while we were in London and threw it against the wall and it started working. She is probably wowing all the guys with her ability to wear the shortest skirt allowed.. Actually, it isn't really allowed, but since we're part of the dress code enforcement team, she hasn't gotten a detention yet."

Lily came running out of the big doors and into Remus's arms, who spun her around. She whispered in his ear, "I need help on DADA question seventy-four."

He laughed really hard and somebody tapped him on the shoulder. It was James.

"Trojan, at your service, milady." James whispered, grabbing his blazer, which was hanging loosely on Sarah's shoulders.

"Well, now, a lady cannot refuse such an offer." She whispered back with a giggle, slipping into his blazer.

"Trojan?" Sarah asked with a scowl. "Isn't that bit raunchy?"

"No.. Not at all what you might think.. See, a fake gigantic horse was used by the Greeks as a military tactic to confuse the Trojans, so, considering the way those two go at it, whether romantically or angrily, it throws everyone off. I thought it was quite appropriate." Munguldus said all too intelligently. Sarah still scowled.

"So, what's with Barnes?" Lily asked during the Sorting. A cheer that erupted from the Hufflepuff table gave James a little distraction time.

"Nothing.. She's got this weird crush on me and I'm humoring her." He muttered, taking a roll from the basket that sat in Lily's lap. They always got hungry during the Sorting. (A/N: Remind you of Ron?)

"You mean you're leading her on?" Lily translated simply, taking a bite of her roll.

"I have no intention of leading her on. Perhaps she'll be my first girlfriend since, well, you." James whispered, buttering his roll under the table.

"Correction: She'll be your first girlfriend since you got back from Hogwarts. We were never officially dating." Lily half-hissed.

"Whatever." James said off-handedly. "She's nice, I guess."

"You guess? She tried to curse my nose off." Lily muttered, raising her voice a bit.

"That must have been interesting." James said with a hidden laugh.

"No, it was excruciatingly painful." Lily snapped in a low voice. "What now, Prongs, do you have to look up the word excruciatingly along with your follow-up reports on Animagi?"

James's confused face must have ticked her off, because she no longer pretended to be watching the Sorting.

"No, no, no.. I didn't think you meant it. She tried to curse your nose off?" James whispered worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"My nose doesn't look like Barbara Streisand's, does it?" Lily asked as a Sid Tyson was sorted into Gryffindor. Lily and James had the least enthusiastic (or real-looking) cheers.

"Okay, okay.. I get it, you're fine. What is your problem?" He asked as Sid's twin Bob was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Maybe it's Sarah- You know- brainy, built, blonde, beautiful, hates my guts.. Or maybe it's the fact you showed up with her glued to your side and the fact that she was wearing your blazer and it's not even cold outside!" Lily hissed a little louder.

"How was I supposed to know she wasn't cold?" James asked helplessly, his voice climbing. "Why do you care what I do with Sarah?"

"Maybe the fact that its ninety-three degrees outside might help!" Lily snapped, standing up. "She's not good enough for you, I don't want you ruining a rep you haven't started!"

He stood up to face her. "What is your problem.. Hold on.. Wait.. You care about me. Lily Evans cares about me!"

He looked a little cocky. "Let the world know: LILY EVANS CARES ABOUT ME!!!"

Lily sat down in a huff. "Or how about the entire population of Hogwarts?" She muttered, rubbing her temples.

"If you wouldn't mind, Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, could you please continue your little self-inflicted melodrama after tonight's feast?" Professor Vector snapped at them from her table. James sat down in a huff and the two slouched in their chairs, their arms crossed.

The entire Gryffindor table was in tears of laughter, and at the Ravenclaw table, Sarah Barnes and David Morales were in states similar to Lily and James's.

"I have an announcement to make! All of the male Gryffindor sixth years, will you please stay in the Common Room! The rest of you must clear out: This is a **special, _exclusive_** meeting!" Sirius yelled over all the noise. "You first years should be going to bed anyway!"

"But, but, but, but.. Wunka Sewyous.. It, it, it, it's still light out!" Lily whined in a baby voice, dragging her feet all the way up the stairs to her room. "Wunka Sewyous mean!"

"So, what's up?" Tad Lowe asked, pulling up a chair as soon as Lily left. 

"Lily has a crush on somebody." Remus said evilly.

"So?" Ronan asked, bored.

"On somebody in this room." Munguldus finished.

"It's James. Duh." Ronan replied.

"That's what I though--.." James began, but Sirius interrupted.

"Besides her crew. We would have known. And James is on an ego-trip sent from hell." Sirius said, waving off James's protests.

"Again.. So?" Ronan asked, getting more bored by the moment.

"Get out, Ronan, you have a girlfriend." Remus demanded, impatient.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up. What's the point of being here?" Ronan demanded in an equally impatient voice.

"Are you the most obtuse specimen of male humanity?" Munguldus roared. "We have to find out who and set her up!"

"Oh, no, no, no." Sirius began. "She has a rule about in-house dating."

"Then why are we here, Padfoot?" James asked.

"It was Remus's bright idea." Sirius snapped sarcastically.

"Why don't we all get some sleep?" Tad asked.

"Good idea." 

"Couldn't agree more."

"Which dormitory am I in this year?"

"Dunno."

And the thirteen boys climbed the stairs to their rooms and everyone began to snooze off into dreamland.


	46. God, It Wasn't THAT Funny, Lee

"Aw, you guys look like preps

"Aw, you guys look like preps! How sweet!" Lily exclaimed when she came down from her room to meet the Marauders for breakfast. She had fashioned her hair in a bit of an odd way, taking up most of it but leaving her long curls down. 

"We do not look like preps." James insisted as they walked out of the portrait hole.

"Coming from the boy who looks the preppiest.." Lily teased. This was her private entourage this year (in alphabetical order, of course): James, Munguldus, Peter, Ronan, Remus,and Sirius.

"I do not look preppy!" James exclaimed. He had actually tamed his hair and indeed looked like a student attending Eton.

Sirius, of course, managed to make his uniform as close to against dress code as possible, and he looked cool and casual (he had selected the long-sleeved sweater this morning). Munguldus had ditched his blazer (which Lily was wearing) and Peter looked like a barrel in his sweater vest. Ronan and Remus looked almost identical, wearing their varsity jackets instead of the blazers. None of the group wore their robes, considering the amount of layers on their bodies were considerably adding up, and had there not been a fat lady in a portrait stuffing her face with croissants, nobody would have been the wiser if they claimed they were in a Muggle boarding school.

"Prep."

"Not prep."

"Improper grammar, prep."

"Will you two shut up?" Munguldus demanded. "You're getting on my nerves."

Lily smiled coyly. She had won. James kissed Lily on top of her head and put his arm around her shoulder, and they walked into the Dining Hall.

"Like I was saying, he was all over me and I am betting you that today he'll ask me to be his girlfriend." Sarah was gossiping 'politely with her Ravenclaw friends. A hot seventh year, some David guy, spoke up.

"Good then, he won't be in my way with Lily. God, I can't believe my brother would do something like that!"

"What do you mean, David?" Sarah asked, taking one of her blonde curls by the finger and twirling it.

Their brief conversation was made even shorter as the Marauders and their entourage (or, for none-Marauder fans, Lily and her entourage) showed up as preppy-popular as could be.

Sarah and David's jaws dropped to the floor as they saw how chummy James and Lily were (considering their argument last night, no one besides the Gryffindors knew what that was about).

"Remus said they're always like that. Fighting one minute and goofing around the next. We have nothing to worry about." Sarah reassured herself with very little confidence.

"Right, and I am the queen of England." David muttered.

"Professor, I don't believe Miss Evans's skirt is following regulation. Look at the sight of her legs!" Professor Vector insisted to Dumbledore as Lily and her friends passed by the Head Table, giggling (Lily) and laughing (the boys) on their way to class.

"Only an inch of skin is showing, Professor." Dumbledore said, bored. "That is hardly a violation."

"Only an inch of skin! Maybe the fact that her ways of covering up that skin include tight stockings and a short skirt! That is why I am so upset! We invented these rules to keep students from being distracted!" Professor Vector insisted.

"No, we came up with these rules because the board decided we didn't look disciplined enough. And if the male students were to be distracted, it would be because they choose to be. Notice how Mr. Potter, Mr. Figg, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Black, Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Lupin are hardly noticing at all that Ms. Evans's skirt is so short." Dumbledore reasoned.

"Probably because they've seen her more naked than this." Professor Vector muttered.

"My dear Professor, don't you have a class to teach?" Dumbledore asked exasperatedly. His ear was about to be talked off.

"Fine, fine.. But can I take points off?" Vector asked eagerly.

"If you do, I will restore the points and add double its amount to the Gryffindor house. That should make your faithful Slytherin students very happy."

"Oy! Lily! Do wait up!" David called through the rushing corridor. Lily got a bit angry and ignored him. James's grip around her became tighter. She was glad for this. James helped her up to a good seat, in the top row of Charms and Sarah Barnes, several rows below, looked furious.

After Charms, James split from the group for his Arithmancy class while the others headed for Divination. For the most part, the Marauders didn't have class together. They didn't even run into each other between classes that much. Except this particular morning, Dumbledore decided to have James go from one side of the castle to the other to deliver a message, and he also sent for Lily. 

Lily twirled a curl around her finger, taking her time to walk across the castle. She always enjoyed the scenery outside Hogwarts, all of which could be seen from the floor-to-ceiling windows. She greeted the Gray Lady as the two passed each other, and walked the empty corridors looking up at the magnificent moldings in the ceiling. Around the corner, James Potter was doing the same thing, and like a classic Marx Brothers moment, the two collided.

"Sorry... Excuse me.." James said, helping his unidentified victim collect her books. It was definitely a female, he caught the color of the skirt and knew they were not the boys' slacks. "I'm such a klutz."

"Yeah, me too." Lily whispered timidly, helping the prefect pick up her books. It was definitely a prefect, she saw the badge on his blazer similar to the one she wore on her sweater. Outside the corner of her eye, she saw a Marauder logo.

"James!"

"Lily!"

The two started laughing and the feelings that had reached Lily before her birthday party came back. She felt as if Cupid had filled his arrow with extra love and shot it right at her heart.

_Stupid cupid, you're a real mean guy_

_I'd like to clip your wings so you can't fly_

_I am in love and it's a cryin' shame_

_And I know that you're the one to blame_

_Hey, hey, set me free_

Stupid cupid, stop pickin' on me

_ _

"I'm on my way to Dumbledore's office, from my DADA tutoring session." Lily said uncomfortably, as James handed her books to her.

"Funny, I'm on my way to the library from Dumbledore's office." James said casually. Lily was acting a bit weird. They both laughed without very much ease.

"See you at lunch, then?" He offered, breaking the silence.

"Lunch then." Lily said breathily. She was about to go when..

"Wait, Lily.. I notice we were almost late for Charms this morning.. We should meet up earlier. How about half past eight?" James asked, inches away from her.

"Fine, fine.. I think I'm about to hyperventilate soon... Gained some sort of claustrophobia over the summer.." Lily lied, scrambling off.

"I wonder what's with her?" James asked, then shrugging. She turned back around and whispered something in his ear.

"Prep."

Then she ran off to Dumbledore's office, feeling stupid and victorious at the same time.

"She was all over him."

"I know, what a slut."

"Barnes!" It was Coco. "Don't ever call Lily a slut unless you want your face rearranged."

Sarah stared at Coco, ready with a snappy comeback, but then she saw Mia. And Clarisse. And Leola, Diana and Jennifer.

"Sorry." Sarah muttered, leaving with her two Hufflepuff friends. 

"I need to find out what this is all about." Coco said determinedly. "Or else Lily's rep will be ruined."

"I see London, I see France, I see Jamsie's underpants." Diana said quickly to the Fat Lady, and the portrait swung open. Lily sure had fun playing around with the passwords.

Leola led the way to Lily's room, but it was empty. Jennifer went downstairs to see if she was in the Common Room, Clarisse went up to the boys' dormitories, and Mia ran to the Dining Hall. Coco, however, checked Lily's bathroom.

"Do you have any idea, Remus?" Mia begged as Remus took another bite of his sandwich.

"Anything, Munguldus?" Clarisse asked, but Munguldus just secured his Quidditch poster above his dresser.

"No idea, huh, James?" Jennifer asked exasperatedly. James captured Tad's queen.

"This is frustrating, Sirius!" Diana exclaimed. "We must talk to Lily!"

"Pull on the dowel right below her bookshelf. You'll find her." Sirius said simply, as he and Peter played Exploding Snap. Sirius looked away for a second, and Peter was covered in ashes.

The six Ravenclaw girls headed up the spiral stairs and saw a lovely hideaway, with millions of glowing and different colored bubbles floating about.

"Hi, Lily." Coco ventured. Lily turned around from her seat on the couch and smiled.

"Hi guys.. I guess you figured out the password pretty quick, huh?" She asked, getting up. "Come join me. Plenty of room."

So they all sat down. Diana and Lily ended up sitting on the arms of the old couch, but it was alright. They sat in silence for a while.

"Sarah Barnes is calling you a slut." Diana said after a while.

"I know."

"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" Leola asked.

"No."

"Why not? Our Lily wouldn't just sit around while people call her bad things." Coco exclaimed loudly.

"She's just hurt. The only reason why people get mad is because they're hurt, and she's mad at me. She thinks that James loves me, which is entirely untrue, and her prudeness just makes her think that because we hang out really closely, that we're practically married." Lily muttered.

"So, then, what are we doing up here?" Clarisse wondered.

"No idea." Mia said, conjuring up a bowl of popcorn.

"Ditto." Jennifer and Lily agreed.

"I got my cassette player to work." Lily said. "Want to listen to a few tunes?"

"Sure." Was the ultimate reaction.

"So we're all dancing to some disco song, Arabella screaming out orders and Sirius is American Southern Gary Stu and Lucius Malfoy is drooling in Arabella's direction.. Or, as Gary Stu put it: 'Mister Lust-Y-Ous.. Miss Mary Ellis would gosh darn appreciate that you did NOT memorize every curve of her gluteus maximus.' So we had fun... It's hard to forget those times." Lily explained as Coco helped her up (a trick stair by the portrait of the Gray Lady dropped for the Ravenclaw students when they uttered the correct password).

Sarah Barnes looked up from her seat and saw slutty Gryffindor she had just been referring to looking very comfortable in the Ravenclaw Common Room. She wore somebody's Gryffindor Quidditch jacket, probably James's, over some jeans and a sweater.

Now was the time to face the music.

"Excuse me." Sarah said, tapping her on the shoulder. Lily turned around and smiled.

"Hi, Sarah." Lily chirped, knowing Sarah would wince. She did.

"I need you to clear something up for me, please." Sarah requested. Lily gave her an interested look. "Are you and James going out?"

Lily and her friends began laughing so hard the milk Mia was drinking came out of her nose. Clarisse was banging on the wall with her fist, Jennifer was clutching her belly, and Coco tried to keep as dignified as one can be when snorting.

"James and me? That has to be the most ridiculous thing I have EVER heard, next to a drunk Sirius's version of 'You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman'. Quite amusing, actually." Lily said after ten minutes of trying to calm down. Leola was still rolling on the floor with laughter.

"God, it wasn't THAT funny, Lee." Diana muttered sarcastically.

"Well, you guys have gone out before, haven't you?" Sarah pushed, making Lily change to seriousness. "You're wearing his jacket, aren't you?"

"That was an act of bad judgment, a silly fling that lasted about two weeks. Beyond that, we have no history and you can put your slutty hands all over him. I don't mind. I don't care. It will be bad judgment on his part if he lets you, but, as the French say, c'est la vie." Lily snapped. "Gotta split girls.. I've got Quidditch practice to attend.. I'm the new captain."

And Lily climbed the little rope ladder out of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"Lily, wait up, for the love of Father Christmas, wait up!" David called after her.

"Why should I, you asshole?" She screamed down the hall of third years. Several Gryffindors (among them the official and unofficial members of the Marauders) stopped to stare at the fight about to erupt.

"Because that wasn't me who dumped you." David explained.

"Oh, was it your identical older brother Diego?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well, kind of." He said.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Lily asked him, placing her hand on her hip.

"Diego is a Death Eater. He put me under the Imperious Curse to torture me.. I sort of got him mad.. He knew if I ended it with you, I'd be miserable." David whispered, getting down on one knee.

"Oh no, the knee thingy." Sirius muttered. "LILY!"

Sirius dived into the crowd and on top of David. "Lily, run, run, as fast as you can!! He's going to propose!!!"

"What?" Lily asked in distress. Sirius had just jumped on top of her ex.

"Get off me!" David demanded. "I wasn't going to ask her to marry me, I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend!"

"What?" Both Lily and Sirius asked, looking at him pointedly.

"Yeah.. I know you must hate me.." He whispered, running a hand through his hair.

"She can't be your girlfriend!" Munguldus exclaimed.

"Why?" He asked.

"Cause she's got a crush on somebody!" Ronan said simply.

"Who?" David, Coco, Clarisse, Mia, Jennifer, Leola and Diana demanded. The Ravenclaw girls had just shown up.

"Shut up, you prats!" Lily hissed quietly. "Nobody.. I'd love to be your girlfriend... Those guys have been sniffing too many Dungbombs.. Hate to kiss and run but I've got a Quidditch practice!"

And she ran off.


	47. Aphrodite- (n.) foul-tempered, charming,...

A/N: The song is 'Stupid Cupid' and I'll be using it for several different chapters

A/N: The song is 'Stupid Cupid' and I'll be using it for several different chapters.. Don't know who originally sang it, but Mandy Moore did a cover for it for the Princess Diaries....

The very first Saturday that came for them, Lily had scheduled several things- An early morning Quidditch practice after breakfast with James, a morning out with the Marauders, a study session with James and a date with David. Her heart felt heavy but she ignored it.

"What has happened to you, Lily? You try so damn hard to keep people away, but you let them on in and you let them make you cry. You were able to do it for fourteen god damn years. What happened?" Lily asked herself as she scrambled to the Dining Hall. Three minutes to half-past eight.

"Eight thirty, on the dot. I'm surprised you weren't fashionably late." James said, putting his stopwatch away.

"I'm hungry." She grunted.

"And desperate." He chirped, pouring syrup on his waffles.

"Hmm?" Lily asked, a mouth full of pancakes.

"That was an act of bad judgment, a silly fling that lasted about two weeks. Beyond that, we have no history and you can put your slutty hands all over him. I don't mind. I don't care. It will be bad judgment on his part if he lets you, but, as the French say, c'est la vie." James said in a high-pitched voice. "And you got back together with the macaroni and butter dude."

"He's nice!" Lily insisted with a guilty blush.

"He's pathetic. And don't you have a crush on a certain Gryffindor sixth year (his name and identity we haven't figured out yet, but my agents are on the case)." James muttered. He stuffed a forkful of syrupy waffles into his mouth.

"Let's make this quick. Quidditch practice at nine." Lily murmured.

"You're avoiding the subject."

"So?"

"LILY! What are you doing?" Sirius shouted. "Dodge that Bludger!!!"

"Sorry, Si, not thinking right." Lily muttered as she landed. "It's like there was some sort of drug in my breakfast."

"Well, we're all going to be starting the athlete's diet. And no more eating with James before Quidditch anything." Sirius commanded.

"Why?" The team chorused.

"Because Lily gets all dizzy." Sirius said with a smirk. Everyone started laughing. 

"Dizzy Lily.. Dizzy Lizzy..." Sirius cooed. He kept singing in her ear, and before he knew it, he had been punched.

"So.. Did you really say that to Sarah Barnes, or am I out of context?" James whispered after the rest of the Marauders helped Sirius up.

"Nope, you were completely on target. I don't know what got into me." Lily said in a tired voice. "She was calling me a slut and said I was all over you and that I was making moves on her boyfriend.. I couldn't take it anymore. So I shut her up."

"Hmm.." James said simply. "I thought she was harboring a silly crush, but this girl seems a bit overboard."

"Tell me about it. She nearly killed me in Charms the other day.. Which you so _conveniently _missed." Lily accused.

"No idea it was going to happen! I had another class scheduled- You know that.. I had to make up an Astronomy test and Flitwick let me!" James squeaked, defending himself. "And you _were_ all over me, but I forgive you."

"What?" Lily sputtered, and then started the grand chase around Hogsmeade Square. After dashing a few feet, it suddenly hit her.

"Guys, meet me at the Three Broomsticks for lunch." She murmured. "I have something to do."

The boys waited for her to come out of Rosmerta's office at lunch. She came out in a uniform that mixed the costumes of a Peruvian folk and exotic dancer (in the ways that the skirt was so short). Her hair was divided and separated into two braided buns on the side of her head with green, black and red ribbons coming out. (A/N: Think Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality during the talent preliminaries, but with red hair and shorter.)

"Hello, Heidi." Munguldus said sarcastically. "Where are your goats?"

"Shut up. It's part of the job. I actually think this will be nice." Lily said as she struggled to sit down without her short skirt (with it's many layers of short lace petticoats underneath) flaring up.

"Why do _you_ need a job? You're rich." Sirius muttered as he snapped for some more butterbeer.

"It'll give me something to do at Christmas during the Swiss Holiday fair." She said with a shrug. "Correction.. I may have a trust fund, but I can't use it until I am official seventeen."

"Then you'll be rich." Sirius said after a minute, connecting his facts.

"Yeah, I guess.. But I don't want to withdraw any more than I have to." Lily chirped, spinning around her straw in her shake.

A bell on the door rang and a pretty brunette walked through the door. Lily squinted at the doorway, then squealed.

"Aphrodite!" Lily screeched, jumping up and leaping towards the door. The girl looked excited, too and they hugged. Lily brought her over and pulled up another chair.

"Guys, this is my friend from the States Aphrodite. I have no idea what you're doing here, Dite, but.. Hey!" Lily stated in a high pitched voice. "Preppy boy is James, crazy blonde is Munguldus.. Guy with the light brown hair is Remus, other blonde is Ronan, guy with the platinum hair is Peter and that crazy guy trying to accidentally pour his shake down some girl's top is Sirius."

Aphrodite waggled a few fingers. At the same time that Lily was admiring James's smile, James was admiring Aphrodite's.

"Lils.. What's with the Peruvian fruitcake get-up?" Aphrodite asked as Lily handed her a butterbeer.

"I start my job here next week and need to start fitting my uniform." Lily said, a little offended.

"I think Lily should be the official mascot of the Marauders in that outfit!" Sirius said defensively.He knew that Aphrodite somehow was moving in on Lily's territory, and that Lily was a bit hurt.

"Yeah! In fact.." James said, catching on. "I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE! C'mere, Princess."

James was standing on the table now, helping Lily onto it. "You guys know who the Marauders are, right?"

"HELL YEAH!" Was their response.

"Well look at this beauty-full lady! She is now the official mascot of the Marauders! Got that?" 

"HELL YEAH!!"

Aphrodite gave a 'oh-how-childish' laugh and Sirius got the feeling he didn't like this girl.

"Give me those." Lily commanded. James handed her his books. "You do so much for me."

"I know." James said, sucking on a lollipop, cherry, supposedly. "YUCK. Sirius exchanged it with the blood-flavored ones.."

Lily handed him one of her lime lollipops and they headed for the Potions lab.

Thirty-three minutes later, there was an explosion in the Potions lab.

"What did you do, Lils?" James demanded as they both burst out of the Potions lab to avoid the smell.

"I wasn't paying attention." Lily admitted guiltily, not about to admit the smell of James's cologne was really making her start to daydream.

"Well THAT was obvious. Lils, what has gotten into you?" James asked, feeling her forehead.

"I'm fine." She lied, whipping out her wand. He Summoned their books and supplies. "Wait, James."

James turned around, with Lily gaining an evil grin on her face. "Accio Severus Snape's Potions textbook."

James grinned. "You are pure evil."

Lily smirked. "Yep."

_Can't do my homework and I can't think straight_

_I meet him ev'ry mornin' 'bout a half past eight_

_I'm actin' like a lovesick fool_

_You even got me carryin' his books to school_

_Hey, hey, set me free_

_Stupid cupid, stop pickin' on me___

"So, what is she doing here?" Coco asked quietly. 

"I don't know, but I don't like her." Leola said. "She brought Lily down when Lily was perky, and she did it intentionally."

"I know!" Jennifer said in a half-gasp. "What's worse is, she was just doing it to impress the guys!"

"She WHAT?" Mia and Clarisse chorused.

"Slut." Diana said after a silence. The other girls burst out laughing. "WHAT? She is. And I know what she's doing here."

"What?" The girls asked eagerly.

"Her dad's some sort of rep for Zonko's.. She'll be here until mid-November." Diana said. "Looks like she's going to do anything to bring Lily down and make herself the self-appointed queen of Hogwarts."

"How are we going to tell Lily?" Coco murmured.

"Tell me what?" Lily chirped. "I'm changing the password tomorrow, so you can't always come and go as you please."

"Just that we can't meet you for lunch tomorrow.. Got a Ravenclaw Quidditch team meeting." Jennifer lied quickly.

"Oh well." Lily said with a heavy sigh. "I am in love."

"With macaroni and butter dude?" Mia asked as she conjured up some Gummy Bears.

"Nope." Lily said whimsically, playing 'He-Loves-Me-He-Loves-Me-Not' with a flower she had created.

"Wow.. Lily in love. Watch out Hogwarts!" Leola exclaimed, making Lily bop her on the side of her head. "Ow."

"Watch out Hogsmeade!" Clarisse added.

"Watch out England." Diana drawled, beginning a chase around the tower top and, as Sirius put it, 'a waste of a perfectly good bowl of Gummy Bears'.


	48. Privacy? Huh? Where? I've Heard of It, B...

"Lily's in LOVE

A/N: Britz, Lily and James went out in November of fifth year.. They went out on maybe four dates.. And they were both too stubborn to admit that they liked each other even a teensy weensy bit.

"Lily's in LOVE?" James repeated, spitting out his coffee.

"Dude, that stuff will kill you." Sirius said, pushing a glass of orange juice in front of him. "That's what Coco told me."

"I knew she had a crush on somebody, but in love? Lily can't be in love. She's never believed in this love stuff. Wow.. Lily in love.." Munguldus mused. 

"Watch out Hogwarts." Ronan muttered.

"Watch out Hogsmeade." Peter said.

"Watch out England." Remus said sarcastically.

"So, who is it?" James asked with interest. "If she told Coco she probably wants to tell us."

"Coco said Lily said she didn't say.." Sirius began, but Lily popped up that instant.

"And he said that she said that he said she said I was totally--..." Lily mocked, taking a bite of toast. "Since when have you guys been gossipers?"

The Marauders stared at her.

"Why are you looking at me like I just Frenched Snape?" Lily asked. "I'm here at half-past eight, with a few minutes to spare, actually."

The Marauders stared at her.

"Freaks." She muttered, heading for her Charms class.

Coco, Leola, Jennifer, Mia, Diana and Clarisse rushed through the halls to their Charms class, hoping not to be late, and hoping to get a seat next to Lily. They knew the Marauders weren't going to sit next to her, because they too were rushing to get to Charms on time.

Just as they scrambled through the doorway, Aphrodite passed by them and took the last seat next to Lily.

"Lillian!" She said in an angelic voice. Coco winced.

"What do you think of Aphrodite?" James whispered two rows behind Lily and Aphrodite during their Floating Bubbles lesson.

"I think she's a cold-hearted--.." Sirius began, but James was leaning his head on his hand dreamily. "Oh shit, Houston.. We've got another floating overly-hormonal teenager on the premises. How are we ever going to get through this year?"

"Eww.. Gross... It's Lily Evans." Aphrodite muttered to one of her new friends (she had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, but her friend was a Hufflepuff named Grace).

Grace looked confused. "Lily's popular. And nice. And smart. And she's pretty."

"Oh she is?" Aphrodite pondered aloud. "That changes everything a bit. But honestly, she is such a freak."

Lily waved and Aphrodite posted a fake smile, waving. "Where do you know each other from?" Grace asked intently.

Aphrodite smiled at the gullible young first year. "We were in Charm School together. Lily had a long way to go, but she's made it.. It seems as if she followed every rule of the Charm School way until this Potter character came about.. I need to see what is so interesting about him.. At least she's still keeping a popular entourage.. But all this goodness and hard work jazz.. Rather diligent and boring, isn't it?"

The naive Hufflepuff only nodded.

"Lily!" James called from the front of the Potions lab. "We have to do a love potion."

"What?" Lily muttered stupidly.

"A love potion." James said again, slowly.

"Aren't those illegal or something?" Lily muttered uncomfortably.

"Lily, you've been having these weird sort of stupid dreams, its like your thoughts have all been screwed up." Munguldus said in a Robin Hood costume, pulling back an arrow about to aim at her heart. Suddenly he was Cupid and looking very stupid trying to pull his diaper back up. Plus, his head was the normal size but his body was the body of a short, chubby flying baby. "Lily.. Lily.. Lily?"

Lily woke up from her dream, drooling on some very bad-tasting silky shawl thingy. She had the Marauders (minus James) staring at her in the Divination classroom.

"LILY!" Munguldus shouted.

"Wha--.." Lily muttered, trying to go back to sleep.

"I said you've been having all these weird sorts of dreams, like your thoughts were ingredients to a potion and they weren't mixed very well." Munguldus repeated. "At least that's what my calculations add up to.. I have to check the book.. LILY!"

"WHA--??" 

"What was your dream about, Lily?" Remus asked sweetly, trying to get an A in Transfiguration for the first time.

"James was dere, and we was in the Potions lab and he said dat we needed to do love potion but I uncomfortable, said 'twas illegal.. And den Munguldus said that me been having weird stupid dreams like potion in Robin Hood costume.. Den he was Cupid, but with his head and 'twas real big. He was aiming at my heart and den somebody told me to wake up." Lily muttered, going to sleep.

Each member of the Marauders was flipping through their dream-translation books.

"It seems as if Lily has some feelings for James and unspoken discomfort with potions, especially things that modify people's feelings. She also feels uncomfortable with Munguldus's predictions.. As if he's stealing her thoughts and distributing them to the people that SHOULD know about them, but she doesn't want them to know about them.. Thus the Robin Hood. She's also afraid of falling in love and of being matched up with someone she knows she won't love, and she fears her heart is at risk." Remus read breathily.

"I think she is going to have an excellent grade in Potions, boys. Miss Evans, please, drool on the other shawl, the lace one.. Drool is so hard to remove from silk.." Trelawney said worriedly before passing their table.

"The lady's right.." Lily muttered while changing her position to drool on the lacy shawl. "Nighty night.."

_ _

_You mixed me up but good, right from the very start_

_Hey, go play Robin Hood with somebody else's heart_

_ _

"Hi James!" Aphrodite called across the busy corridor. "Oh, James! I need to talk to you!"

Coco and Leola stopped chatting for a moment to drag preppy-looking James away from hearing range of Aphrodite's irresistible voice and into an empty classroom, making him sit down on a desk and crossing their arms, glaring at him.

"What does it mean when two beautiful girls drag a fellow into an empty classroom, make him sit down and just glare at him?" James pondered to himself.

"Lily had a dream about you in Transfiguration." Leola said simply.

"Well, I am--.." James said cockily, pretending to be modest.

"Eww.. Gross. I meant that the translation of the dream was something along the lines of dangerous people lurk under aliases of Greek symbols of love." Leola said, hitting him upside his head.

"Ouch..." James muttered, rubbing the spot she had slapped. "So what?"

"Greek symbols of love.. ("Aphrodite.") Greek symbols of love.. ("Aphrodite!") Greek symbols of love.. ("Aphrodite!!!") Greek symbols of love.. ("APHRODITE!!")" Coco said, Leola staring at James like he was from Jupiter.

James stared back as if he was from Jupiter.

"Aphrodite, you dolt!" Coco said, hitting him on the other side of his head.

"Ouch.. What about her?" James said, rubbing the other side of his head.

"ARGH!" Leola screamed, throwing up her hands in frustration, dragging Coco with her.

"What?" James asked helplessly as he poked his head out the door. "What about her?"

"James is such an idiot." Leola said at lunch. "And, of course, now the Venus flytrap has her eye on 'im."

"That's creative.. The whole Aphrodite equals Venus, and since she's a man-eating whore.. Venus Flytrap! Creative!" Clarisse chirped. Coco was on one side of her, eating a sandwich, and Leola was on the other.

"Shut up, Clarisse." Coco muttered.

"Even after you explained the whole Greek symbols of love thing?" Diana asked with concern.

"Yes." Coco and Leola muttered tiredly. 

"So, what are we going to do? About telling Lily and all?" Jennifer asked in a hushed voice.

"Well, she has a boyfriend." Mia reasoned.

"Yeah, we'll have to let her handle it.. In her own way." Diana said determinedly.

"And if that Venus flytrap and that daft prick do anything to hurt her, we kill them!" Clarisse muttered with a scary smile, losing her head.

Leola and Coco whapped Clarisse on her head.

"We won't kill them.. But we will take down the Venus flytrap." Jennifer said reasonably.

"And teach that daft prick a lesson." Mia said excitedly.

"You realize we sound like a really cheesy British mafia TV. show script?" Coco asked.

"What's TV?" Clarisse chirped, again, acting stupid.

"Blech." Leola said, her head in her hands.

"Is that a word?" Clarisse asked perkily.

"Shut _up_, Clarisse." Diana begged.

"What are you _doing_, Lily?" Diana asked as she and the rest of Lily's Ravenclaw pals (subtract Clarisse) jumbled up the stairs and to the top of Gryffindor tower.

"I see a brunette." Lily said, squinting.

"Lily! You HAVE a boyfriend!" Leola exclaimed as she joined Lily to squint at the 'brunette'.

"Do you know that it says in Cosmo that squinting is a major turn-off for guys." Jennifer said, waving around a lime lollipop while sitting on the couch.

"Do you know that Jennifer Caitlin Sheen is full of useless information and facts?" Mia snapped, as Coco flopped down next to her. Mia rushed next to Lily and Leola to see what they were looking at.

"Oh, that's Remus." Leola said at the same time as Mia said, "The girl is a Ravenclaw."

"Oh my god!" Lily squealed. "Remus is _snogging_!" A look of horror graced her face. "Oh my god.. I should never, EVER use those words in the same sentence again, EVER."

"What, where?" Jennifer asked, rushing to the edge.

"Go Coco!" Lily shouted.

"Lily, I'm right here!" Coco said with an air of distaste. "I don't dig Remus.. Munguldus is hotter."

"Well, it's a blonde Ravenclaw.. It's not Sarah.. She's got a thing for James.." Lily said. And then they all realized it.

"CLARISSE!!!"

And of course, they rushed down the stairs and outside of the portrait hole as soon as possible.

Sirius and James looked up. Lily and her female friends were all giggly. That in itself was a huge oxy moron. Munguldus, Ronan and Peter followed Sirius and James as they scrambled out of the Common Room and followed the girls.

"Tiptoe, you elephants!" Lily hissed as they each poked their heads out behind the tree the happy, blissful couple were "snogging" behind. The tree had vines growing up the side and a little wooden white trellis holding back the wild roses, and the couple was sitting on the bench that encircled the tree.

Remus's eyes flickered open. There was one of Clarisse's friends. No, two. No, five. And five of his friends.

"Doesn't a guy get any privacy around here?" He sputtered angrily. Lily tried to keep a straight face as she leaned against the tree casually (in a deep blue cropped sweater, short sleeves, with black jeans, her hair pulled away from her face.. Not that anyone was paying attention or anything..).

"Is that a rhetorical question or what?" She asked pointedly.

"You lost me." Remus said as Clarisse scrambled out of her seat, adjusting her appearance.

"I can't do anything around here without the Marauders finding out somehow.. You're a Marauder.. Did you EXPECT privacy or something?" Lily explained.

"Well.. Yeah." Remus said nervously, running a hand through his hair.

"Dream on." Lily said with a smile. "I am now off to go pound Sarah Barnes to the ground. Ta-ta." 

She tried to flick her foot in the air as she turned, but it got caught in the little trellis thingy. She was still on the ground an hour later as James tried to get her out. Her other friends were tiptoeing around somewhere.

"Figures, doesn't it?" Lily asked James as he kept cursing the trellis, which had a mind of its own. "The only guys I can attract eat macaroni with butter or are magical fencing devices."

"You can't honestly believe that, can you?" James asked her as he put the Tickling Charm on the fence, which started to vibrate.

"Yes, and could you mind not letting me bounce up and down?" Lily said in a shaky voice, because the fence started jiggling.

"Honestly, Lil.. You could have had any guy last year.. And the years I was gone." James reasoned as he got part of her shoe out of the trellis. "Comfy down there?"

"That's in then. You are bad luck for my love life." Lily said simply. "I mean, honestly. I haven't been asked out until David, and _Snape_ proposed and I almost married him.. Yep, you're bad luck for anyone's love life."

"Suddenly I turn from being bad for your love life to bad for anyone's love life. Explain, Princess." James asked as he sat down on the bench beside her, removing her shoelaces.

"Well, Remus hasn't really scored since you got back, at least in the second base department.. Ronan and Arabella were split up and you haven't seen Munguldus or Peter with any success! And... Sirius and Helen both lost loved ones.." Lily trailed off, knowing she had no point.

James smirked. "What about my love life? I haven't exactly 'scored' either, not even with you. Though that might change with Aphrodite.."

"Oh." Lily said uncomfortably. "She's one of those man-eating people-ma-bobs and she'll turn you against women forever and.."

James and Lily both looked uncomfortable. James looked mad, even. Then he cried out, "Voila! Your foot is release--.." He stopped because he had only gotten her foot out of her shoe. Her shoe was still stuck. And she had toppled to the ground.

"Sorry, Lils.. I thought.." James said as he scrambled to his knees to help her up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, and she looked straight into his eyes.

James didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he pulled her closer to him and gave her a fireworks-starting kiss.

Lily began to panic. She reached for something, anything, as they started leaning on the tree. She found a solid object and pulled it out and banged it on his head. He collapsed.

As soon as James's eyes fluttered open, he saw Lily hovering over him worriedly. "So sorry, just an impulse."

"Yeah, I guess.." James muttered. "What exactly did you hit me with?"

"I got it out." She said, waving her shoe in the air.

"Brilliant, Lily, brilliant." James muttered.

"Lily!" David called. "There you are! Hello, James, what are you doing down there?"

"Lily was practicing her self-defense moves on me.. Said she needed someone with a hard head." James muttered, his heart out of making up a decent excuse.

"She sure does have a sense of humor, doesn't she?" David said proudly as Lily got up. He kissed her on the cheek.

"You have no idea." James murmured. "Absolutely no idea."


	49. A Series of Events When Two Former Lover...

"Letting her handle it was a bad idea

"Letting her handle it was a bad idea." Coco said hurriedly as she rushed up to where her friends were hanging out (the Ravenclaw Quidditch team locker room).

"Why, Coco?" Diana asked worriedly, sitting up.

"She just, um, kissed James." Coco said, rubbing her neck nervously.

"WHAT?" Leola demanded. "That is NOT part of the plan. Princess Lily cannot kiss her true love, the next victim of the Venus flytrap!"

"She really didn't kiss him, he sort of kissed her." Coco explained. "And David nearly walked over to them while they were kissing. She had bopped him on the head with her shoe."

"Smart girl." Mia said as she put the finishing touches on her nails.

"Well, he can't fall in love with her!" Jennifer protested. "That would ruin everything!"

"What's to ruin?" Clarisse asked. "Or is this some sort of Ravenclaw-Divination thingy?"

"No, no, no! We wanted him to fall in love with her, but only when she's ready!" Diana explained.

"Well, that's the way love is, I suppose. It's one of those scary unpredictable things that just never goes away until you don't want it to." Mia said wisely. 

"But you know she's going to hate him forever, right?" Jennifer asked.

"Why?" Leola wondered.

"You know Lily. She has everything planned out exactly the way it should be. So far, he's complied. But that kiss was a daring and dangerous thing to do. He nearly jeopardized her social status and her relationship with her boyfriend." Jennifer explained.

"How would HE jeopardize her social status?" Leola wondered. "He's popular."

"But if she was caught cheating on her boyfriend, she'd be changed from teen queen to teen whore." Jennifer said with a snap. "Like that."

"Wow.." Leola murmured. "She IS going to hate him forever."

"Lily." Sirius said, tapping her on the shoulder. Lily jumped ("Wow! That must have been, what, six feet?") up into the air, and started breathing heavily.

"What, do you want to kill me?" She demanded. She had her hand on her chest and she was leaning on a windowsill for support.

"Sorry." Sirius said, jumping five feet from her to assure safety. "You're late for your DADA session with Remus."

"Sorry, Si.. I've just been having a bad, bad week." Lily muttered, rubbing her temples.

"That will have to be fixed, won't it?" Sirius said with a smile. "And, we know."

Lily didn't realize what he meant until he was gone.

"Sorry, Wolfie." Lily muttered as she threw her books down on the table.

"Don't call me Wolfie." Remus said, checking his watch. "Funny, you're never late for breakfast.. With _Jay-Ames_."

"Dammit! You know?" Lily cried out in frustration, as she began to bang her head on the table's surface. "**How** _do _you know?"

"Sirius and Munguldus can read your mind." Remus said as he dealt out a game of Exploding Snap. "Deal you in?"

"Sure." Lily said between bangs. She scribbled herself a note. "Do.. Not.. Think.. Around.. Sirius.. Or.. No, especially.. Munguldus. Voila!"

"Won't that be a little hard? No, wait.. You WON'T be able to think because _they_ hang around _Jay-Ames_." Remus teased.

"Doesn't a girl get any privacy around here?" Lily demanded.

"Is that a rhetorical question or what?" Remus asked with a sly smile after a moment.

"You lost me." Lily added, catching on.

"I can't do anything without the Marauders finding out somehow.. You kissed a Marauder. Did you EXPECT privacy or something?" He recited in a high-pitched voice. Lily started laughing.

"Figures that it wouldn't stay quiet. Who else knows?" Lily said after backing away from the table. The game of Exploding Snap was on fire. She put it out with her wand.

"Your Ravenclaw friends, the official and unofficial Marauders and you." He said simply as he wiped away the ash.

"Which Ravenclaw friends?" Lily asked wearily.

"Not Aphrodite nor the macaroni-and-butter dude. The ones that always hang out on the tower with you." Remus assured her.

"Does James know you know?" Lily asked as she completed her DADA worksheet. Remus went over her answers.

"No, but won't it be fun to mess with his head? Or are you suddenly not going to do that anymore?" Remus replied.

"Does Lily Evans ever pass up a prank, in whatever form it may be?" She retorted as her answer. Remus smiled. He circled the incorrect questions and darted out of the library to go tell his friends.

"So what is with David and you? I mean.. He takes you out every Saturday night, you eat the same thing, dry white chicken, macaroni and butter and water, and he seems to want to marry you.. And.. You kiss another guy." Coco pondered aloud as Friday night in Lily's room continued. Lily rubbed her mask in better. Clarisse had white creamy stuff all over her face, Jennifer had a green mask on with cucumber slices, and Diana had an apricot scrub bottle in her hand, preparing to put it on.

"Correction.. He kissed me. I don't know what's with David and I. He seems to love me more than I will ever like him. But he's somewhat of a boring decoy. Like Sirius's Missy.. A bit of a Red Herring." Lily said through a mouthful of chips.

Leola and Mia hurried in, closing the door behind them. "Sirius.. Remus.. Loads of sweets..." Was all the others could make out of their words. Suddenly there was knocking at the door.

"Let us in. Let Us In. LET US IN!!" The boys chorused. Lily had a sly smile on her face. Coco, who was behind the door, flipped the switch for the lights and let them in slowly, slamming the door behind them. Then, she turned on the lights again.

"AH!!! AH!!! AH!!" They yelled (Leola identified two brunettes and two blondes). "LET US OUT! LET US OUT! LET US OUT!!" 

Lily smirked as the boys became more desperate. They started sobbing and banging against the door and suddenly the lights were switched out.

James ran up the stairs, wondering what all the commotion was. Within the confusion, the girls had Charmed their faces to look normal while the masks were still working.

James opened the door to see a sobbing group of Marauders, Sirius, Remus, Munguldus and Ronan. And then he saw the girls, eating popcorn.

"Wimps."

Sirius responded with, "So, James... How exactly does a platform high top, blue with a blue stripe on the white sole, size five-and-a-half taste? Similar to coffee?"

James blushed and pushed the Marauders out the door. "Bye ladies."

The girls, posted at different (and oddly catalog-picture-like) spots all over the room, waggled their right hand's fingers. "Bye-bye!"

The Charms were removed and the girls continued to giggle and laugh.

"What were you thinking?" Sirius asked after a moment.

"I really don't know." James said. "Could you mind untying me now?"

The Marauders had tied up their leader on a chair in the middle of the room, so they could circle him and question him.

"We won't untie you until you confess your never-dying love for Aphrodite, and that you are perfectly fine with David being Lily's boyfriend and you would be completely alright if Lily hated you forever." Remus said simply. "We'll make it plain and simple- Lily won't want anything to do with you. You're not going to try to fix that. We're not going to try to fix that. Her friends are fine with letting you walk right into a fire. You have to promise us that you will love Aphrodite forever, and be polite to Lily and forget love."

"What?" James protested. "You lost me at 'completely hating me forever'. Why would she do that?"

"She'll find reasons. Whatever they are and no matter how unreasonable they are, she'll find them. And you're not going to ask for them." Ronan commanded.

"Okay, since when have you guys turned into the Emotions Nazis?" James asked, trying to stand up, but Munguldus pushed him right back down.

"Since when have you cared about Lily? If I remember correctly, you said yourself the girl was dangerous." Munguldus replied.

"Deal." James muttered sadly. His friends drew up a contract, and, at the bottom, in glistening gold and pink letters read:

_And if I, James Potter, the undersigned, ever feel as if any of Lily's boyfriends are horrible for no reason, or that any stirring of my heart is for Lily, or that IF and only IF she gives me reasons for hating me, I cannot pursue her for more. If I do, something really, really bad will happen and my friends, undersigned witnesses, will personally do something to me._

_ _

"It's what he said the first day of the last camp-out that got me so mad. And now this! Honestly. We're pulling down any photos or drawings of him and putting them away." Lily said. The girls groaned. "I'll change the password to something you'll never remember.." She said musically. Slowly they got up and began to carefully remove things from the walls and shelves.

There was a whole lot of silence. Mia came across a book on one of Lily's shelves and handed it to her. "What about this one?"

Lily smiled in spite of herself. That was her fifth year yearbook. Just like she had predicted, everyone wondered why all of James's Godric Hollow portraits were on the ground.

"Keep it."

Lily had broken herself out of a crush on James. She didn't meet the Marauders at half-past eight every morning, she met her Ravenclaw friends at eight-fifteen before heading for classes. But still, every Saturday morning, Coco would have to go up to Lily's room to yell her awake. And every Saturday morning, Lily would fall out of bed, saying, "I'm late! James is going to hold this over my head--.."

And then she would realize that she wasn't meeting him for breakfast anyway, and in a tumble of blankets and fluffy stuffed things, she would fall asleep again.

But this Saturday morning, Coco came up extra early. Not only did Lily have Quidditch practice, she wanted to see if Lily was really out of love with James. It must have been mid-October now, soon time for annoying Aphrodite to leave (oddly enough, she hadn't been around lately), and David had become more and more devoted to Lily by the hour.

"Lily.. Rise and shine.." Coco whispered.

"What time is it?" Lily muttered, pulling her silky-eye-cover off her head.

"Eight forty-five." Coco informed her, lying all the way.

"Fifteen more minutes, Coco.. Fifteen more minutes.." Lily muttered.

Coco hugged her like a bear. "It's a miracle, Lily! You did it! You fell out of love with James Potter!!!"

"Yes, yes.. Woo-hoo." Lily said sarcastically. "I need fifteen more minutes of sleep."

"Nope, you've got a Quidditch practice." Coco chirped perkily. "Let's get you glamed up so that you knock 'em dead!"

Lily did knock them dead. She was dead tired, but still, in the words of Coco, glam-o to the bone.

James noticed Lily nodding off and thought (and hoped) that Lily would ask for a ride on his broomstick, the best broomstick for fifty miles.

"A ride, milady?" He asked, hovering five feet above the ground, just about where her neck was.

"Why would I want a ride on your stupid broomstick if I've got one of my own?" She asked him.

James was shocked. Lily wasn't like this. Even her month of 'hating' him didn't result in this.

"Are you just going to sit on your broom like an inarticulate idiot?" She demanded. He kept staring at her. "Fine."

She shoved him off his broom and onto the ground, while mounting her own. "Later, Potter."

An hour later, Lily's voice was hoarse with orders. "Beaters- Perfect the Dooplebeater Defense! You're wonderful at it! Munguldus- Your Sloth Grip Rolls are getting better, but keep working on it.. Scrimmage!!! Chasers! Parkin's Pincer at five.. Four.. Three.. Two.. One!!!"

Coco walked onto the field proudly. "Congrats, Lil.. You really did it."

"She did it." James said. "I didn't think she'd do it."

"She has every reason to have a grudge against you. And you're in love with Aphrodite, remember?" Sirius asked him.

"Yes, yes, I remember. Damn.. I've got this prefects meeting to go to.. Later, Si." James said, taking off.

He tried to get his blazer off, and as soon as he had, there was a girl waiting to occupy it. Aphrodite.

Sirius would have recited Aphrodite's biography at the moment, if she had been a normal girl. Long brown hair, like waist-length long, big, almond-shaped black eyes with a hint of evil around them, full figure and tiny waist, five foot five, weighing in at exactly 202.2 kilograms or 101 pounds, interested in men, money and everything in between, has never worked a day in her life. If this information had been given to James, he would never have given her a second thought. But no, there was no Sirius to warn him, and he certainly was not going to listen to a certain redhead ex-friend of his.

"Fashionably late, James." Leola said as James entered twenty minutes past the time the meeting had been scheduled.

"Sorry." He muttered, sliding into a seat next to the closest female prefect he could find, which turned out to be Missy Appleby, an old ex of Sirius's. "What's the meeting about.. We had our monthly meeting already."

"The Halloween feast. We don't want to do a ball.. We have too many of those, and Dumbledore thinks next year will be the last one we do until there's something important to celebrate. However, there is the Hogsmeade Harvest Fair, we could do something with them." Said Snape from his spot next to Lily, who was looking very uncomfortable.

"A dance on the second-to-last night and a costume contest?" Suggested Lola, a fifth year Slytherin prefect.

"Agreed?" Asked Zahn, a Slytherin prefect, sixth year.

"No. Not quite." Chorused Lily and James. They glared at one another.

"Figures the Gryffindors would oppose to what we say." Snape muttered. Lily stuck her tongue out at him, having nothing more appropriate or articulate to say.

"It's not that, Snap- Severus. Its just contests are so boring without a twist. How about we only admit people into the final hours of the dance if their costumes fit to the judges' preferences, and there's some sort of king and queen? Or, we could just have the judges at the gates of the Harvest fair and only let people into the dance if their costumes are out of sight?" James suggested, Lily bobbing her head in agreement.

"So it was him, huh?" Snape muttered. She kicked him under the table.

"All in favor?" Asked Maxine, the fifth year Ravenclaw prefect.

"Aye." Everyone chorused, though the Slytherins were a little reluctant.

"I have to blow this Popsicle stand.. I'd love to help plan, but how 'bout I help out on the night of the dance?" Lily piped. "I've got to get to work. I'll make the announcements and the flyers."

She gave James a quick, suspicious peck on the cheek before leaving, then she popped out of sight.

"Apparation?" Lola asked.

"No.. Different form of Transfiguration." Leola said simply.

"Oh."

After five hours of non-stop running in circles, serving meals and drinks, and trying to convince Ilashi Patil that he was not indeed drunk, so he had to stop acting like it, Lily was finally relieved to take a break. And David, the one who had been loyal through it all, greeted her with a kiss and a nice cold drink.

"Thanks." Lily whispered, fixing her hair. "I have to convince Rosmerta not to make us wear these costumes."

"You look cute." David said honestly.

"But I'm cold, Mister Cashmere Sweater." Lily muttered. She waved her hand high over her head to greet her friends.

"I know you might know them, but here, the official introduction. Coco Chen, Jennifer Sheen, Clarisse Dubois, Mia O'Reilly, Diana Thermopolis, and Leola Suarez, you know David." Lily said formally as she got up from her seat to serve butterbeers to the people coming in.

"Lily!" Sirius called. "A lap dance!"

"Dream on, Si!" She called over the noise.

"I will! However, while I wait, how about five butterbeers?"

"Where's your sixth part?"

"Out to lunch, mentally and physically."

"Coming, then."

Lily waved her hand, having Charmed it in an experiment last week, and she reappeared by the Marauders' table with the drinks. "Here you go."

"Well, Lily.. Don't you wish I had killed him when I jumped on him?" Sirius asked as Lily jingled, serving the drinks.

"No, Sirius, he really is nice." Lily whispered, tweaking Sirius's nose like he was a little boy. "At least he hasn't asked me to put on his Ravenclaw Quidditch jacket."

"Yeah, then you'd be a backstabber and a cheating girlfriend." Munguldus muttered. She slapped the side of his head.

"Anything else, boys?" She asked in a loud voice.

"Make room for two." Came a familiar female voice.

Lily spun around to see Aphrodite under James's arm, wearing his Quidditch jacket. As James settled into the little booth, Lily hissed in Aphrodite's ear.

"Picking up after old friend's scraps again, Aphrodite? I knew you hadn't changed. You're just as much a slut as you ever were. Sorry, dear.. Did I say that? What I meant to say is that I wish I had never pitied you. You're going to break his heart and I'm going to beat you down." Lily muttered, but then, in a louder voice. "Got to go, Dite.. But have a nice day."

Aphrodite was semi-frozen. So Lily hadn't forgotten that the trick of the tongue and a plastered smile always got your way. Well, two can play that game. An evil smile played on Aphrodite's lips as Lily walked away, Transfiguring her clothes to something a little more her.

"May I have your attention please?" She asked in a loud voice. "You all know that the Hogsmeade Harvest Fair is coming up, right? Well, the last night, the night before the final day of the fair, Hogwarts and the Three Broomsticks are sponsoring a dance. In order to attend, you have to be wearing an outrageous, creative or knock-out costume, no matter what year you're in. The king and queen will be crowned by the end of the night. Spread the word to your first and second year friends! We will have an outrageous party!"

Lily disappeared into the crowd, and then Sirius said in a loud whisper, "James, what the hell is on your face?"

Aphrodite handed him a mirror, and James saw a huge, yellow covered zit on his cheek. Where Lily had kissed it.

"Evans!!!!" James shouted. "You'll pay for this!!"

"What is he shouting about, Lily?" Coco asked.

"You'll see." Lily whispered as she whipped out a camera with a zoom-in lens. "Just like everyone else."


	50. An Article, A Stick of Cotton Candy, Fiv...

"Lily

A/N: Sorry it took so long, but life is hectic around here.. So, here, I present, the lovely, the wonderful, Chapter 50.

"Lily." Coco said quietly. Lily whirled around quickly, and Coco handed her the headline.

Heirs to Magical Fortune Narrowed Down Once Again 

"Lily Evans, one of the five heirs to the Evans fortune, is now one of the three. Her stepmother is to receive seventy-five percent of the fortune on Lily's twenty-fifth birthday if Lily is married to a person she does not love. Mrs. Claire Evans certainly realized this, if Miss Evans's appearance at the Napa Valley Massacre earlier this year is any proof. It was said that Miss Evans was engaged to a Slytherin of her age, Severus Snape, whose family owns a Potions company. Seeing as Miss Evans is now a feisty sixteen year old Gryffindor, one would probably be correct in assuming that she was trapped into the marriage." Lily said breathily, clutching the paper tighter. There were four pictures. One was Lily and James arguing in Napa, when Lily was rushing to help but James prevented her from doing so. Another was Lily's yearbook photo last year, Snape's photo was also placed in the spread, along with a picture of Claire. The people in the Gryffindor Common Room started to pay attention as Lily walked to the center of the room, reading aloud.

"The two other heirs, the ones that were cute off as of yesterday, a Maria Patterson and a Petunia Dursley, were both children of Mr. Evans, Lily's late father. Petunia was Lily's sister and Maria her half-sister. Why were the two cut off from the will? Mrs. Dursley had a settled home and Mr. Evans's trusted lawyers and advisors were given the power to cut off her allowance once she had been settled. Maria Patterson was Mr. Evans's daughter, the result of an old college fling. Oddly enough, a college fling of Maria's cut HER off from her money. Mr. Evans's lawyers and advisors were like him, conservative rich people that followed the rules of society..." Lily stopped there. Coco slowly reached for the paper, but Lily glared.

"No, I want to see what this is all about." She said simply. "Maria's college fling involves a young man named Rupert Ravenclaw, seen on page fifteen with Lily Evans at a Ministry benefit. Mr. Evans strongly disapproved of the match of his daughter Maria and Rupert, and said so until his death. Maria Patterson married Rupert in a small ceremony at Easter. And who are the three remaining heirs, and why does one of them not even seem to exist?"

Someone drew up a chair for Lily and she murmured her thanks. "Lily Evans, third daughter of Mr. Charles Evans and second daughter to his wife Rose. Lily's parents divorced when Lily was young, before she began her studious and industrious years at Hogwarts. Intelligent, athletic, social, pretty, hard-working, involved prefect Lily maintains a job at the popular tavern, the Three Broomsticks, and is in her third relationship with a Ravenclaw seventh year David Morales. Recently, Lily lost two of her friends to the Napa Valley Massacre. Claire Evans- Not much to say- She was a smart cookie who hung around rich and powerful men until she 'snagged' one. She has yet to confirm rumors that she had never loved Mr. Evans, her late husband. The third and final heir is an unborn child of James Potter, confirms a prophet. Harry Aries Potter has one third of the fortune if born by Miss Evans's twenty-fifth birthday. If Miss Evans is happily married and the son of James Potter is born, Mrs. Claire Evans will have nothing. We will see this drama unfold as a stepmother, a stepdaughter and an unborn child compete for riches."

Lily pulled the newspaper down and had these wide, innocent eyes you never would have believed belonged to her. "I'm competing with a fat blonde bitch and an unborn child of James's?" 

Both she said with extreme disgust. She pulled up the paper again to see some photos on page fifteen. She gasped and stood up, throwing the paper into the fire and storming up to her room. Coco slowly followed and soon people could hear banging on Lily's door.

"Lily! Open this door! Lily!!! Stop being unreasonable!!" Coco demanded. "LILY EVANS!!! GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM AND TALK TO ME!!!"

"Peter." James ordered. "Get me a copy of today's paper."

In minutes, James had a section of the Daily Prophet and flipped to page fifteen. He smirked with satisfaction. She WAS over him.

The Daily Prophet had published the photo of James and Lily in Godric's Hollow. The one at the gazebo steps.

"It seems as if Princess is upset." James said simply, folding the paper.

"Naw! I just thought she was a little, teensy weensy, just slightly INSANE!" Sirius shouted, but not any louder than Coco.

"LILY ISABELLE EVANS! GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM AND TALK TO ME BEFORE I REVEAL EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT YOU!" Coco shouted, her voice wearing down. The door slammed. Lily grabbed Coco by the wrist and turned the lock again.

"We are NOT talking about what happened down there, we are talking about our costumes for the dance." Lily said immediately.

"Okay.." Coco muttered. "You're going as some sort of .."

"Dunno.. You?" Lily asked.

"You know my dad and my mum, right?" Coco inquired. Lily nodded. Coco's dad was a Japanese-British wizard and Coco's mum was an American Muggle fashion enthusiast. They had a big argument over Coco's name.. Mr. Chen wanted something Japanese and Mrs. Chen wanted something showing off her fashion sense. So, they settled on Coco. Coco Chanel was who Mrs. Chen was naming her after, and Koko, a traditional Japanese name, was what Mr. Chen wanted. They compromised. "Well, they sent me this glam-o dress, this pale pink thingy with white sparkly swirls and a mermaid skirt and it's crushed silk, so it feels like a really big cherry blossom.." 

"Sounds cool. What kind of swirls?" Lily pondered.

"Like metallic silvery ones with sparkling rhinestones.. My mum's a fashion fanatic." Coco replied. "What about your dress? Got any ideas?"

"You know the white dress Mia made me, that wonderful evening gown? I'm probably going to put pastel streaks in my hair and get some of these little light bulbs out and pretend to be a friendly spirit or something." Lily envisioned.

"Sounds pretty-full!" Coco chirped with a giggle. Lily looked at her oddly.

"Sorry."

"Anyway..."

"Do you know who's judging?" Coco asked after a minute, slapping the bedspread to indicate her request.

Lily leapt over and laid down flat on her stomach and Coco started to braid her hair. "The Head Boy and Girl, the Headmaster, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall. Glad I'm not Head Girl."

"You're going to be and you know it." Coco said simply, conjuring up some beads to snap around Lily's medium-thick braid.

"Eww. Head Girl. If I'm Head Girl, you know Potter will be selected because Dumbledore has this thing about getting along with people and stuff. Since when has that worked?" Lily said with a pout.

"Since when have you called James.. Potter?" Coco asked.

"Ever since he said not to call him Mister Potter anymore. And we argued once or twice when the name came up. And the night after Jackie died.. And calling him James isn't right for me, nor Prongs or Jimmy-boy or whatever.. Aphrodite can do that, but not me.. I'm not his friend, I'm not his girlfriend.. We don't even like each other." Lily ranted.

"Have you ever.. Kissed him? I mean, besides the time you hit him with a shoe." Coco asked, trying to be as casual as possible.

"Once or twice." Lily said with a sly smile.

"None of the times could have been good, I mean.. You knocked him out with a shoe and then the other times you guys didn't even get together or nothing.." Coco danced around her point. Lily sat up and whispered in her ear.

"Every single time he was fantastic."

"How do you mean?" Coco said, hoping her voice wasn't squeaking.

"Lily has something of mine in her room? Why would she have something of mine in her room?" James asked loudly as he was being pushed up the stairs to Lily's room.

"Keep your voice down! We have to sneak in to get it! Put the damn cloak on!" Peter exclaimed. "I'll open the door and it should be right under the mirror!"

James crept up the stairs and Peter sighed. "That man is such an idiot."

"The first time, I was almost thirteen, and it was sweet and brief and stuff.. The second time, in November, it was a bit firmer and goodness, he had just had a mint so it was an Eskimo kind of kiss, not the nose kind, but it was sweet... Before I knocked him out with a shoe, he had this sort of firm, increasing pressure thingy that felt really good. And he didn't stick his tongue in my mouth or anything, he just teased me a bit. But then, of course, I knocked him out with a shoe.." Lily ranted, unaware that James was fiddling through the box under the mirror, absorbing every word she was saying.

"Really? I heard of that with foreign boys, but, yummy!" Coco said, falling onto her back.

"For him! I got these fruit-flavored lippies and stuff.." Lily whispered, taking a hint from her friend. Soon they were both staring at Lily's hidden supply of Dungbombs hidden in the canopy rail. "You have to try a few, I've got a whole bunch of flavors, y'know?"

James snuck out of Lily's room, not really caring what else she had to say about make-up. However, he was dieing to snicker and analyze every word she said.

Time passed by quickly. James and Lily were caught either at jobs, prefects' meetings, Quidditch practices, classes, their bedrooms or falling out of closets with their significant others. Only two of those activities involved any contact with one another. Lily smiled more and could be caught making out with David in his Common Room, and Aphrodite was _all_ over James.

The Harvest fair lasted seven days. Each house had one day off solitary and one day the entire school went out. Then there was Saturday night, the day when everyone had time to go to the fair and then Sunday was the closing day.

Gryffindor had the second day. Tuesday. Most of the Gryffindors whipped out their varsity jackets and sweaters and headed out. Lily got out cream-colored turtle-neck and her varsity jacket, straightened her hair and pulled it back with a cream-colored hair wrap and got ready to go.

Down at the fair every imaginable treat there could be was there. Lily was feeling a bit wild, and, ready to make a little extra money. So, Sirius offered, if she was blindfolded and given a bunch of cotton candy.

"Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!" Sirius yelled. "This girl will let any guy within the guidelines remove the cotton candy from her mouth!"

"Peter, I've got a girlfriend! I don't need to French some random girl." James insisted.

"Fine.. But if you were completely against the idea, you wouldn't be following me." Peter said with a shrug, walking backwards.

"Fine.. But, I'm going to close my eyes.." James said unconvincingly.

"Whatever, James.." Peter said, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the crowd.

"Here are the rules.. Male person, you do everything you want to do for five minutes. Female person, you don't get close, you don't get intimate, you DON'T open your eyes, you were paid to do this." Sirius said loudly.

James was pushed towards the girl, first letting his arms circle her waist and placing his lips firmly on hers. She opened her mouth and let his tongue in, but he wasn't going to give in that easy. He teased her a bit, until she got a bit demanding.

Sirius checked the time. One minute.

It was getting deep. James had his eyes closed, holding this girl closer, getting every bit of the cotton candy out of her mouth.

Four and a half minutes.

James opened his eyes for one moment, and did a double take. This girl, this overwhelming power, was.. Eww.. Lily. He backed away quickly and darted through the crowd.

"FIVE MINUTES ARE UP!"

Lily opened her eyes and there was no one there. Wait, there was.. Some brunette Quidditch player was going through the crowd. She smiled to herself.

At four o' clock, when Lily was on her way to the top of the Ferris wheel, students poured out of the horseless carriages that ported students from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. Lily spotted in the crowd her loving boyfriend, and felt a little guilty about earning five Sickles by not breathing for five minutes.. That was a good summary.. It wasn't entirely a lie, was it?

On her way down, Lily's heart felt heavy. She didn't know exactly who she kissed, but that was someone who knew their way around. And, she decided, she was going to have to dump David. Not now. The night before the Halloween dance.


	51. Part One of Unexpected Events

"James

A/N: Sorry I took so long, but you will be rewarded for your patience!!!

"James? Mind handing me that box over there?" Lily asked. James ran across the platformed stage and handed her the cardboard box. Their hands touched briefly and she gave him a grateful smile. 

It was late Thursday night, and the band, a co-ed group from the States called Sweet Charity, was about to do their first sound check. James caught just little scraps of Lily's conversation with Leola and Missy as he set up the lights and the little pools around the stage (A/N: Think the most romantic scene in She's All That, except with a smaller pool).

"I decided I would dump him two days ago, but he hasn't been around. Every time I try to talk to him, though, he almost literally runs away."

James didn't know who was speaking, and couldn't check, because the lead singer of Sweet Charity needed a bit more on the amp.

Lily sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

Missy and Leola each gave her a comforting smile.

"I guess I have to go to with the dance with him after all." She said finally.

"Look, Lily! The apple race!" Mia exclaimed. Lily and her friends rushed over to sign up.

"Here are the rules!!! Each contestant has been assigned to a team. Team Red or Team Blue. Each contestant will have their hands tied behind their backs and are to pass the apples with their mouths. Whichever team's apple gets back to it's original departure location will split the prize: Each person will get to dedicate and extra special request at the dance tomorrow night!" The Head Boy announced. 

Lily and her friends got their hands tied with blue bandanas, the other team got their hands tied with red bandanas. Among the members of Team Red were James, Aphrodite, Peter and Ronan. Lily flashed a smile.

The apples were being raced down the line. Lily passed hers as quickly as possible. When she was done, she looked over at the other line and saw that Team Blue was winning. Emphasis on WAS.

If James and Aphrodite weren't so wrapped up in lip-locking, the apple would have been at the end. But no, Lily thought as the apple came her way again, Team Red was winning. Correction, Team Red won. Lily and Team Blue threw a scowl in the direction of the two lovebirds, but they didn't seem to notice.

However, they were noticing. Both hoping Lily was watching. Both hoping she was jealous, too. 

"One is lavender, one is pale blue, and, voila! Just finish the white streak and you're done, chica!" Charity said. Charity was the lead singer of Sweet Charity, and she was a whiz with hair.

"Thanks, Charity!" Lily exclaimed, looking oh so glam with the palest make-up that made her eyes and lips shimmer and the glitter on her cheeks sure made her look like the genuine five-star experience. 

"You're not done!" Charity insisted. "Something's missing."

"I know." Lily chimed. She reached for a sleek white box and opened it. What seemed like millions of little light bubbles collected around her, sending a breeze around her white chiffon dress and her hair. She tapped the box with her wand and it turned into a sleek, hard handbag.

"Perfect." Charity said. Lily smiled serenely. Charity skipped off to her concert. About five minutes after Charity left, Mia, Clarisse, Leola, Diana, Jennifer and Coco came in, ready to wait.

The girls surveyed each other in silence. Clarisse had dug up this old hot pink halter dress covered in sequins, and found matching sparkly gloves and had done up her hair. With light pink lipstick, black fishnet stockings and a pair of hot pink high heels, she looked like a lounge singer. 

Diana had gone with something lime green. She had gotten this leather green mini-dress, some white pantyhose, white platform shoes, and this cute white leather cap. She had curled the ends of her light brown hair and with the cap, she had successfully turned herself into a go-go dancer, with sparkly make-up that made her features pop.

Jennifer decided that her dark brown hair would be a great contrast to the shiny red devil-tress costume she had found for a party during the summer. She had been right.

Leola and Mia found something yellow would contrast nicely- Mia had bright orange hair like Lily had had once when she was younger. Leola had this cinnamon-brown skin and raven-black hair that would be a fantastic counterpart to the gowns that they both selected long yellow dresses, like ones princesses wore to a boring social event. In fact, they had crowns and those little baton-thingies with fake jewels on them and they looked, indeed, quite bored.

Just as Lily had predicted, Coco looked ravishing in her dress. Her black hair was crimped and spread out on her shoulders and she looked like something from a fairy tale.

Finally someone spoke.

"If one of us doesn't win the prize, the judges are either nuts or blind." Mia said matter-of-factly. The little bubble lights sent another breeze through Lily's hair.

"I still have to go with David." She said with an air of depression.

"Isn't he your boyfriend?" Clarisse asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, but I don't want him to be." Lily said quietly. "He's hopeless."

"Break it to him easy after the dance. You don't want to humiliate him, do you?" Leola asked sweetly, trying not to talk to loud.

"I guess not." Lily pouted. "Let's go."

"Lily!" Munguldus exclaimed, taking a good overview. "You look fantastic!"

Lily smiled as her friends passed her. "Thanks." With that, she selected one of the lighted bubbles from around her and handed it to Munguldus. "For that special girl tonight."

Lily floated onto the dance floor, greeting friends and smiling at everyone. When she passed James, he had to take a double-take.

"What's wrong, Jamie?" Aphrodite cooed in his ear. He was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera and she was a very bad-looking Christine.

"Nothing.. Lily's accessories are amazing." He half-lied. Aphrodite gave a tiny scowl.

"Yes, yes.. She was always good at that. Her hair is really quite creative, and the dress is a knock-out, but other than that she has no real beauty. It was all _earned_. The old-fashioned way. Me? My daddy paid every single penny for my flawless beauty. I don't know why some people hide it. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Aphrodite chattered, but James was still staring at the bubbles. With a small smile, he looked back at Aphrodite and pretended that he cared what she was saying. 

"David!" Lily exclaimed, looking him over. His costume looked fantastic, but he wasn't really creative. He was the Muggle-idea of a vampire.

"Lily, darling, please.." He began, but the music struck up.

"Come on, silly, let's dance." She begged, pulling on his arm. Neither David nor Aphrodite were matches for Lily and James's dancing skills, but they sure did try. Several dances later, David was practically on his knees, begging for Lily to stop.

"But I love this song, darling!" She protested. Aphrodite was sitting this one out as well. James offered and Lily waved at her nervous boyfriend as she and James began to take over the dance floor.

"So.."

"Yes, James?"

"A vampire?"

"I know! So uncreative! But you.. I like this whole Phantom of the Opera thingy."

"I like it myself. If only Aphrodite could match."

"I was going to say that..."

"I know."

They continued to dance in silence, but then Lily looked up from her feet and looked into his eyes. "Whatever made us stop?"

"Stop?" He asked innocently.

"Whatever made us stop being friends?" Lily asked.

"You got mad at me for kissing you."

"Oh yeah."

"Though I'd do it again. Even if you had your shoe."

Lily gave a fake and very uncomfortable laugh. The song ended.

"Well, I guess this is it." She said wearily.

"I guess this is it." He repeated quietly. "Have a nice night."

"Lily!" David's voice came on the microphone. Her head snapped up in David's direction. She rushed over to the stage, not caring if her dress was dragging in the pool.

He jumped down from the stage as she set her purse onto it. Her hand went up instantly to it, as if securing her balance. She seemed a little dizzy.

"Lily, dear.." David whispered, getting down on one knee.

"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.

"Proposing." He said confusedly. "Or I think I am. Lily darling.."

"Huh?" Lily sputtered inarticulately.

"Lily, darling.. Will you--.." He began, but she did the first thing she could think of. She bopped him over the head with her purse.

"Lily, please--.."

Bop. Lily had gotten her purse and was repeatedly whacking him on the head with it with full force.

"Darling, stop..."

Bop. Bop.

"Lily--.."

Bop. Bop. Bop.

"Darling, please.."

Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop.

"Lily, stop--.."

Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop.

"STOP!"

Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop. Bop.

"What was that for?" They both asked at the same time, Lily climbing onto the stage.

"Are you out of your mind? I am sixteen!!!" Lily shouted, making the other dance patrons look up.

"You would've married Snape!" David protested.

"Family obligations!"

"This is the obligation of your heart!"

"Says who?"

"Why can't you marry me?"

"I'm a virgin."

"That can be fixed."

"Don't have a dress."

"I'll buy you one."

"Can't dance."

"I'll teach you."

"Your family won't like me."

"They love you!"

"My family doesn't like you."

"You hate Claire."

"Don't have a house."

"I'll buy you one."

"For Merlin's sake, I'm washing my hair!" She shouted, being picked up by a mic. The Gryffindors started to laugh insanely. Lily jumped off the stage and rushed off crying.

"Don't go man, if you want to live." Sirius said to David, who was trying to go after her.

"Lily?" James asked, looking up the tree.

"Go away."

"Are you okay?"

"Go away, David."

"I'm not David."

"Oh. Come on up, then."

James climbed up the tree and sat himself beside Lily. "You okay?"

"Somebody I was about to break up with asked met to marry him." She pouted, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her hair was damp and covered in leaves.

"You were going to break up with him?" James pondered absentmindedly.

" He's boring." Lily said, defending herself. "I mean, honestly.. How can you stand macaroni and butter?"

"Hm."

"You know what the worst part is?"

"What?"

"His breath smelled like macaroni and butter, white, dry, tasteless chicken and water." Lily pouted. James laughed really, really hard.

"You were true to your heart- There is nothing better than that." He whispered, giving her a squeeze. "Night, Lily."

"Night James."


	52. Part Two of Unexpected Events

  "So.." James said finally. He and Lily had been slowly spinning in circles for the past hour.

  "Don't want to talk about it." Lily whispered. She held James tighter and sort of cocked her head to lean on his shoulder. "It's rather boring, really."

  James knew she was lying. She might as well be. The truth would hurt everyone, him included. He didn't know this for sure, but he might as well have assumed it was the truth. Charity took a look at Lily and the band struck up a new song. Silver Platter Boy.

The world isn't served on a silver platter 

_Whatever it is now, it doesn't matter_

_When life takes a road_

_You just gotta go_

When things just ain't goin' your way 

_Somehow, someday_

_You will know_

  "So, I guess you don't hate me now."

  "No, still hate you."

  "Then why are you dancing with me?"

  "I'm not dancing with you. I am a complete figment of your imagination. We are not having this conversation. You're having another one of your fantasies about me."

  "Okay, fantasy Lily, if this is a fantasy then I'm going to tell you, fantasy Lily to stop dancing."

  "Okay, fantasy James."

  "Stop moving your feet, fantasy Lily."

  "Right, fantasy James."

_The way that things can be_

_Have you thinking constantly_

_That maybe your choices were wrong_

_But sometimes there's just one chance_

_Sometimes there's just one dance_

_Everything can change.._

_Everything can change._

  "Tell me, Lily. You know you want to." James whispered teasingly.

  "You're starting to sound like pre-Jackie Sirius." Lily complained quietly.

   "Is that a problem, Lady Lillian?"

   "Don't start."

  "Why not, Lady Lillian? You don't even know the story."

  "Because you won't tell me."  

  "You're a smart girl, figure it out yourself."

   "You're impossible!"

   "Yes, fantasy Lily."

_You may think he's the guy_

_Who always passes you by_

_Just for the blonde_

_But for your information_

Just for confirmation He's really does care   "Every word that comes out of your mouth just rattles my cage!" Lily informed him.   "Thank you."   "What is your problem?"    "At the moment.." James began. Aphrodite whined across the slowly emptying dance floor (it was about dinner time).   "Jay-Ames! I'm hungry!!"   "Speaking of the devil.." James whispered, making Lily laugh.   "Jay-Ames! The dance is breaking for an hour to have dinner! Hurry up, would you?" Aphrodite shrieked.   "Let me finish this song, Dite." James muttered exasperatedly. Aphrodite stomped off, her entourage of protégées and fans following behind her.    His every single word makes your skin tingle His smile makes you weak 

_He leaves the confident princess_

_Oh so mild and meek_

_This is the guy you don't know_

_Even though you think you do_

_And though you think he doesn't care_

_He knows everything about you.._

  "Spin me, fantasy James."

  "Of course, Lady Lillian."

  "Didn't I ask you NOT to start?"

  "Spinning as requested."

_The way that things can be_

_Have you thinking constantly_

_That maybe your choices were wrong_

_But sometimes there's just one chance_

_Sometimes there's just one dance_

_Everything can change.._

_Everything can change._

  "Why do you have to make everything so complicated?" Lily demanded.

  "Yes."

   "Why?"

   "Because in order to keep my wits when I'm around perfection, I have to be rude and arrogant."

   "And I'm perfection?"

  "You say it like it's questionable."

  "It is."

   "It isn't."

   "It is."

   "It isn't."

    "It—.." Lily stopped. James was looking at her hungrily. She smiled wide. Grabbing him by the wrist, she dragged him off the dance floor and kissed him. Hard.

Watch out for the other girls 

_They think he has a game_

_But he's not a definition_

_He is just a name_

_He's charming you_

_Into his web of lies_

_But beyond the smile_

_He's the one who cries_

_He's got this sort of intuition_

_Unexplained_

_You gotta know_

_Life comes with change.._

_Life comes with change!_

_Life comes with change.._

_Life comes with change_

_It comes with change.._

  Charity sang out her last note and saw that the bickering dancers were no longer there. She glanced around and saw white cloth mixing with navy blue off to the side and smiled.

  This may have been the first time James had given his full-James-Potter treatment, and this was the first time Lily had ever received it. And, for the both of them, it was the first time the kiss felt right.

  Aphrodite came storming onto the dance floor. James and Lily were nowhere in sight. 

  Aphrodite snapped her fingers. An anxious Hufflepuff stepped forward. "Bertha. Go find James, will you?"

  Bertha Jorkins muttered something unintelligible, but it sounded like, "I am not worthy, oh great one."

  The anxious Hufflepuff skipped off happily and chatted with the band quietly, and Charity's head snapped up from her serene smile at the hidden couple. Before she could stop anybody, the anxious Hufflepuff was skipping off again

  Lily felt this sort of whizzing feeling take over her- A safe factor played in her mind- She was in James's arms, after all. But the danger- The horror. Kissing someone else's boyfriend, a former friend's boyfriend, hours after she had broken it off with her own significant other..

  "Oh there you are, James! Aphrodite is wait—Oh my Go--..." There was a giant light blue flash and Bertha Jorkins's eyes rolled to the back of her head and the two jumped apart as they rolled back into focus. Charity put her wand away and winked.

  "Oh there you are, James! Aphrodite is waiting for you! Hi, Lily!" The anxious Hufflepuff repeated. Lily stared at her like she was from Mars. But then her dictionary of Charms that seemed implanted in her head found the description of a Memory Charm.

  **Light blue flash of light, and victim's eyes roll out of focus then back into focus. In a strong Memory Charm, the memory should be completely wiped out and the victim shouldn't even remember what they are doing there. A weaker one will have the victim repeating their last words. **

  Lily smiled with tons of fakery and seemed really confident. James shot Bertha and Lily an uneasy grin and Lily nodded. "Go on, now. Aphrodite will start to think bad thoughts!"

  James hid his disgust of Lily's coo and followed Bertha outside of his hidden alcove. Lily waved goodbye and skipped up to Charity.

  "Charms not your best subject?" She whispered, still waving with 'spirit fingers' and smiling like a beauty pageant queen.

  "Are you kidding me? Why do you think I went into singing?" Charity muttered, following Lily's example.

  Lily giggled as unrealistically as she could, but leaving enough of her real smile to let Charity know she was happy. James shot them another uneasy grin and the two burst into giggles.

  "He has no idea what kind of torture he's going to have. Mental torture, that is." Lily said with a final laugh.

  "Aw.. I kind of feel sorry for the sucker." Charity muttered. They burst out laughing again.

  Lily giggled quietly as her name was called out for Queen of the Hogsmeade Harvest Fair Dance. James smiled sheepishly towards her while they accepted their crowns and requested the same song. Silver Platter Boy.

A/N: I own the song...


	53. From My Head To My Heart

Once again I just can't get it straight

_Once again I just can't get it straight_

_Wondering if wandering is my fate_

But don't lose hope in me quite yet 

_'cause help must be on the way, any day_

Soon after the Hogsmeade incidents, James got a very bad case of the flu. Aphrodite silently fumed- She couldn't kiss a sick James, and if she wasn't kissing him she wasn't getting Lily jealous. But one little note from her father had her bouncing into the Hospital Wing with her entourage.

"Jay-Ames!! Oh, Jay-Ames!" She called shrilly, James shaking his head in frustration.

"Oh, James, you won't believe it! Daddy is letting me stay until winter holidays and then we go home! Aren't you happy?"

Sirius, sitting nearby, covered his ears. He took a glance at Aphrodite, who was still smiling perkily and expectantly. He scribbled a bit more on the parchment in front of him, a joke between James and himself called 'the eulogy'.

There was this shimmering belt around her waist. Now that he thought about it, it had always been there. She had perfect timing. Sirius was just about to pester James about why Bertha had said "Oh my God." just days before. Now, if they would just get out...

"Wonderful, darling... Dite, I'm highly contagious.." No sooner had James muttered those words did Aphrodite leap ten feet from the bed.

"Well, bye, darling.." She said with a fake smile, leaving the room.

_ _

_From my head to my heart_

_can't seem to find a way they're so far apart_

_It's not you, it's not your fault_

_You've got everything I could ever want_

_And you've always understood my intentions are good_

_and we've been so close from the start_

_but the furthest distance I've ever known is_

_From my head to my heart_

"Now that the evil spirit is gone, what happened at the dance? Bertha doesn't normally scream that exclamation of shock.." Sirius trailed off. "I need juicy details, Potter! Your eulogy has to be good!"

"Lily kissed me."

"Crossing off 'honest person'." Sirius scribbled a bit.

"And I enjoyed it."

"And 'faithful boyfriend'."

"And I couldn't tell anyone."

"Good friend is going down the drain."

"And I was ready to give up everything for her. My family, my friends.. School."

"There goes 'loyal to his family'."

"And I really wanted to--.."

"And no more will be 'sensible person'. Do you just want the shortest eulogy ever?" Sirius asked him.

"Aren't you at all shocked?" James asked as he sat upright with a start.

"Knows his friends well.." Sirius muttered as he made several dark lines on the parchment.

"What's left?" James asked.

"My.. Acquaintance James was a great Quidditch player, a master of pranks and a sharp dresser." Sirius read slowly.

"That's it?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"One kiss ruined it all for you." Sirius said simply.

"Isn't that always the case?" James muttered, slipping back under his sheets.

Sirius shook his head.

_ _

_I feel the distance standing here next to you_

_I don't want to keep you waiting, but I've been waiting too_

_Some day if I get there and you still want me too_

_we can see it through_

A week later, James was out of the Hospital Wing and obviously much happier. He was a little thin, but most blamed that on the wear of having Aphrodite for a girlfriend.

One day, while walking out of the Dining Hall, James caught Lily's eye and she had smiled real wide. From their last words at the dance, they hadn't even greeted one another. James tried to cross the corridor, when Aphrodite hopped up towards him.

"Darling! I'm so glad you're better!" James, though being dragged off by Aphrodite, caught Lily's hurt gaze when he passed her.

_From my head to my heart_

_can't seem to find a way they're so far apart_

_It's not you, it's not your fault_

_You've got everything I could ever want_

_And you've always understood my intentions are good_

_and we've been so close from the start_

_but the furthest distance I've ever known is_

_From my head to my heart_

"Lily!" James called across the corridor. She whipped around and glared at him. People rushed by and even though she had tears in her eyes, she managed to sound as angry as ever.

"What do _you_ want?" She snapped.

At that moment, her words plunged deep into his mind. He didn't even know what he wanted. If it was her, than what was stopping him?

"All you want to do is hurt me, isn't it? What the hell is wrong with me that you find the need to pierce my heart over and over again?" She yelled. She whipped back around and headed for the North Tower for Divination.

"It's just a gift, I guess." James whispered to himself, heading off for Arithmancy.

_I feel the distance standing here next to you_

_I don't want to keep you waiting, but I've been waiting too_

_Some day if I get there and you still want me too_

_we can see it through_

"Come on, Lily, talk to me." James begged as she huffed up the stairs with Coco and Clarisse.

Lily turned her nose up in the air.

"What is _his_ problem?" Coco asked as they reached Charms.

"What did he _do_?" Clarisse wondered as Lily took her seat and started ripping up her parchment.

"Damn." James muttered as he sat, leaning against the staircase. "What have I done now?"

_From my head to my heart_

_can't seem to find a way they're so far apart_

_It's not you, it's not your fault_

_You've got everything I could ever want_

_And you've always understood my intentions are good_

_and we've been so close from the start_

_but the furthest distance I've ever known is_

_From my head to my heart_

In Transfiguration, James kept stealing glances at Lily. She caught his eye once and smiled with a slight blush. She was sitting in his aisle, but she was far off. Sirius from the row above him, ruffled his hair to make him pay attention.

"James has a cru-ush." Sirius whispered to his Marauder-counterparts.

"Ooo.. James.. Is Aphrodite that high-maintenance?" Ronan teased in James's ear. Most of the Marauders (except for Peter, he sat at James's right, near the window) sat in the row with Sirius. 

James scribbled on his parchment a bit more. It was just a doodle, but it was a name, over and over and over.

Remus snatched it from him. "Lily! _Oh_, Lily! Bellisima! Bell of my heart, jewel of my crown!!" Remus whispered loudly and melodramatically, standing up and pretending to faint into the row in front of him.

"Mr. Lupin!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "To your papers!"

Lily had a small satisfied smile and continued to work on her paper. James stole another glance at her, but this time, his gaze was perfectly concentrated on her.

"Evans, huh?" Peter whispered. "She is quite the hottie."

James didn't hear him. Lily was speaking to Professor McGonagall. He didn't hear anything except the musical tones of her voice, the confidence and assurance that he was definitely attracted to.

"Mr. Potter! Is my lesson fun?" Professor McGonagall demanded. James sat up properly and nodded.

"Fun. Yes, very fun. Very fun, ma'am." James said casually.

"And interesting, Mr. Potter? Is my lesson interesting?" Professor McGonagall asked.

James wondered what this was leading up to. "Interesting, very interesting, ma'am."

"As interesting as Miss Evans's ear?" Professor McGonagall asked with a hidden, sly smile.

"No, ma'am. Not at all." James whispered.

"What was that, Mister Potter?" McGonagall demanded.

"More interesting, ma'am." James nearly shouted, stealing another glance at Lily and smiling. She looked back down at her paper with a deeper blush in her cheeks and Professor McGonagall dismissed the class. James jumped over students and book bags and darted up to Lily, who was just getting out of her seat. He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her into this fantastic, fireworks-starting kiss.

Aphrodite St. Clair walked into the Transfiguration classroom with the normal boredom, pushing anybody out of her way to her favorite seat. It was the second row from the top and close to a window. Her jaw dropped when she saw her boyfriend, her perfect one, her world, kissing Lily Isabella Evans.

_ _

_I feel the distance standing here next to you_

_I don't want to keep you waiting, but I've been waiting too_

_Some day if I get there and you still want me too_

_we can see it through_

Lily had her eyes closed to take in James's great-feeling public display of affection. And now, she finally felt she was his.

A/N: The song is Evan and Jaron's 'From My Head To My Heart'. I thought it was extremely appropriate.


	54. A Heart Once Broken is Yet Again Smashed...

"Did you know that when a gorilla likes a female he goes up and pees on her Paul Hodgson Normal Paul Hodgson 8 80 2001-10-16T23:33:00Z 2001-10-29T11:59:00Z 3 1087 6201 CelestialSoft 51 12 7615 9.2720 Print 90 

A/N: Two things- I know this chapter is short, but there's a reason, which probably will be explained to you by the ending of the chapter, if you just read it. Second, I have a spin-off! Yes, yes, yes.. A spin-off. If you haven't read it, check it out. It's called Gilded, and it DOES have some Gilded Lily references in there, so you might find it amusing..

  "Did you know that when a gorilla likes a female he goes up and pees on her?" Coco asked Lily as they sat on some bridge they had conjured up over the Great Lake. Their feet dangled in the water, and they sat there eating apples.

  "For once, I'm glad James chose his more 'subtle' ways of doing things." Lily said with a giggle.

  "So this is what the school goddesses do in their spare time? Dress in flannel, denim, pigtails and eat apples?" A voice half-sneered behind them. "And the subject matter! Oh goodness, my poor ears are burning!"

  "Severus!" Lily exclaimed, jumping up.

  "Yes, yes, it's me. I know how you've missed me so! Especially since you've gone through two boys already." Severus half-sneered again. His face softened. "I told you it was him."

  "What do you mean, I've gone through two? James and I haven't even started yet, yet alone finished! And, do you have any hard feelings?" Lily asked wearily. Coco looked on with wide eyes.

  "Of course I have hard feelings. You were the light of my life. I just wanted to warn you that lover boy is coming this way, so.. Can you tell me something?" 

  "What?" Lily wondered with large eyes.

  "Um.. Why was it him?" He asked after a moment.

  "You weren't my type." Lily explained, not looking at him and running her foot through the water.

  "Why not?" He asked in surprise.

  "You're cynical. You're horrible. You don't know how to love, how to observe the tiny things in life that make them so precious.. I can not believe I am having this conversation with you..." Lily muttered, looking up. Severus was gone.

  "Hey, there, darlin'." James said, slipping next to his pretty girlfriend and giving her a peck on the cheek.

  "I've always thought people saying, 'Hey, there!' try to make me feel inadequate." Lily thought aloud.

  "Well, then, let's start over. Hello, darling." James said, kissing her on the cheek again. Lily giggled. "How is your Saturday?"

  "Quite lovely, actually. Haven't lifted a finger all day." Lily informed him. "And of course, I've been spending the day being a little girl and eating apples with my best friend and then, there is you."

  James pretended to be flattered. "The goddess of a goddess Lily Evans has complimented me.. Oh the gods reward me with too much."

  "Then stop being a ham, James." Coco muttered. "Speaking of goddesses, how is the Greek one doing?"

  James looked at her with a great expression of confusion on her face. 

  "She means Aphrodite, you idiot." Lily explained. "Boys are so daft."

   Coco nodded and James shrugged.

   "Is this how the royal court acts in the absence of the most amusing members?" A voice behind them asked. The three looked beyond the bridge and saw Remus, Sirius, Peter, Munguldus and Ronan standing there with Clarisse, Mia, Leola, Jennifer and Diana. Lily jumped up instantly.

  "May I present to you the Duke of York with his sister?" Lily asked in an overly snooty voice. Sirius and Diana stepped forward. "And the Countess and Count of Devon?" Remus and Clarisse sat down. "And the three Ladies of Edinburgh with their three brothers, the Lords of Edinburgh?"

  "Today is a lazy Saturday." Diana announced, sitting down and removing her shoes.

  "Today is a silly Saturday." Remus whined.

  "Today is a day for Lily and James to make out." Lily said, pushing her palms up towards the sky. James began to tickle her, and the rest of the group groaned.

  "The Ice Queen and the Pranks King.. Who would have thunk?" Sirius said in his Gary-Stu voice.

  "Shut up, Sirius.." James murmured, then proceeding to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek.

 Lily flashed him a crazy smile, and exchanged a look with Coco. The two of them stood up, and did cannonballs into the lake.

  Remus, Munguldus, James and Sirius rushed forward, dropping to their knees to insure the girls were alright.

  "Are you okay?" Remus asked quietly as they surfaced.

  They had mischief in their eyes.

  "Uh-oh." Sirius muttered.

  "Uh-oh? What's uh-oh? Huh?" Munguldus panicked, looking around wildly. He looked back at the girls. "Uh-oh."

  Before they could get away, the five boys toppled in with the help of Lily and Coco's hands.

  Clarisse, Mia, Leola, Jennifer, Ronan, Peter, and Diana started to laugh their heads off, but they too were soon covered in lake muck.

  "I'm cold." Lily pouted.

  "Well, you were the one who jumped into the lake in the middle of November." James reasoned.

  "Why do you have to be so logical?" Lily asked, wrapping herself up in his jacket. Which he was still wearing. Sort of.

  "That, Princess, is why you love me." James explained.

  "I thought it was the hair." Lily whispered teasingly, looking up at him.

  "You said my hair was preppy!" James exclaimed.

  "When it's all straight and stuff." Lily said.

  "You are fighting a losing battle, here.." James whispered. They found the back door to Rosmerta's and sat down on the back step, letting the warm light flow over them.

  "Whatever James." Lily whispered, falling asleep slowly on his chest. James leaned back into the doorframe.

  "I have the most fun with you, Princess.." James whispered to his half-awake girlfriend.

  "You know what? I love you James.." Lily whispered, finally falling asleep.

  James looked at her in awe. Closing his eyes, he kissed the top of her head after a moment, he replied, "I love you, too, Princess.."

  Severus Snape was relatively happy. He was in the top ten places in his class, he was relatively popular, he was playing Quidditch, he was being spoiled, and he had a wonderful new girlfriend.. Rich, refined, beautiful, charming, intelligent, talented and athletic Aphrodite St. Clair.

  She was alright, he supposed. She had almost every personality trait his previous girlfriend, the light of his life, Lily Evans, had had, but she missed one. The fact that she just _wasn't_ Lily Evans.

  He was happy, though.

  Why he was walking down the back alleyways of Hogsmeade, he didn't know. He supposed that Lily had told him that he needed to see what real people were like, and it was rather charming, if you didn't remember that the cute little candles in the windows could possibly set the place on fire, and the adorable little cooks that the children were baking were probably horrible.

  She had actually called him cynical. She had been cynical, but that was before.. Well, before James.

  Severus shoved his hands in his pockets and turned a corner. Light poured out onto the dirt path, some people sweeping their stoops off, some children playing as dusk took over the sky. He walked a little further and looked out onto the plain field ahead of him.

  Some cloth rubbed against another piece of cloth, the noise making Severus perk up and turn. It was a little farther down the path that a mysterious lump slept on the stoop. 

  Walking over to investigate, he saw that the stoop belonged to Madam Rosmerta's kitchen. And the lump was definitely a Gryffindor.

  Severus hovered over the lump, which turned out to be two lumps combined into one.

  "I love you, too, Princess." The brunette lump whispered.

  And the redheaded lump cuddled closer.

  Severus sadly walked back to the castle.


	55. Lily Goes Home A Billionare And Heartbro...

  Lily smiled and drummed her fingers on the surface of her desk. _Nothing_, nothing at all, could ruin her day.

  Except a letter from Claire. Or rather, a visit from Claire.

  "My, my, Lily! I didn't realize you were living in a castle!" Her shrill voice carried through the dungeons. Professor Emerson, an irritable old man formerly a Ravenclaw, looked up with the rest of the class. Lily groaned.

  The Marauders, however, were highly amused. Lily shot them a glare. "Hi, mommy dearest."

  Claire frowned slightly, but then her face lit up. "Lily, darling, ask for permission to be excused."

  Lily looked at Professor Emerson, but he seemed oddly happy. He waved at her to go, and she packed up her things.

  "Well?" Lily asked, not quite closing the door behind her. Claire clutched her pink handbag nervously.

  "Well, Lily dear.. The will. The real will was officially read to me last week. You're the only beneficiary. No trustee. Nothing. You can kick me out of the house if you want. You're a billionaire." Claire whispered. "So I thought you could come home.. You don't need to go to boarding school to hide from me."

  "What?" Lily hissed.

  "Well, that is, if Maria takes her share. But still. Your father was a billionaire. He left three billion to your sister, and a few billion to that child of James Potter's, but other than that, it's all yours. His investments, his houses.." Claire clutched her handbag tighter.

  "You want me to leave Hogwarts?" Lily whispered helplessly, yet infuriated at the same time.

  Claire nodded nervously.

  "How can you say that to me? How can you make me leave what I want most?" Lily shouted, her words floating through the cracks of the dungeon door. Everyone had scrambled to lean against it, to hear what was going on. Lily looked away, angry, but then realized something. "Give me the will."

  "E-e-excuse me?" Claire stuttered, not looking Lily in the eye.

  "Give me a copy of the god damn will. I know you have it." Lily demanded.

  Claire dug into her handbag and in a pink folder, handed it to Lily.

  Lily's eyes scanned through quickly. "And to my wife, Mrs. Claire Mary Simpson-Evans, I leave nothing. Unless, of course, my darling Beneficiary decides to come home before her seventh year at her boarding school. Before graduating her sixth year, my Beneficiary is in the hands of my wife if she chooses to come home. You lying little gold digger. It may have worked on my father, but it won't work on me. You have done me nothing but wrongs, and you want me to let you live in my house?"

  Claire nodded.

  "Well, think again, you hussy! My father's fortune lies in the hands of Maria, that unborn son of _my_ boyfriend, and me. Go suck up to them! Or have you already tried? I wouldn't leave Hogwarts if Voldemort and his whole band of Death Eaters were descending upon the place!"

  Claire looked confused. "Get lost, mommy dearest."

   "Why would my father leave a few billion dollars to the unborn child of James Potter, Professor?" Lily inquired.

   "I don't want to change the future, but, seeing as things will go in your seventh year.. Lily, this child of James's will destroy Voldemort." Dumbledore told her seriously, his blue eyes straight forwardly looking into hers.

  Lily's eyes widened. "Your father went through a stage when he was all for magic, didn't he? Well, at that point of time, Professor Trelawney was just another prophet, studying the stars. She gave him a prophecy, the only true one she's made to date, and he believed her. He left this fortune to the orphaned child."

  "Orphaned? But that means.." Lily's eyes filled with shock. "No. I'm not going to let it happen." 

  She got out of her chair and slammed the door behind her.

  "Shit." Lily muttered to herself, not deciding on where to go. She finally found someplace where she could be alone. Remembering slightly where the movable staircases were, she found the one she had nearly fallen from.

  The staircase began to move again as she sat on the steps sadly. In mid-air she commanded it to stop. It was a nice feeling, the loneliness when you really needed it. Except, after a while, there was a whooshing sound.

  "Hey there." A cheery voice called to her.

  "Hi." She whispered sadly.

  James Potter looked confused on his broom. She should have laughed. She should have smiled. She should have said, 'Oh, my hero!'. Okay, scratch that. That isn't Lily. But, she should have smiled. He landed and sat next to her on the stairs.

  "Hi." He whispered.

  Lily sighed. "This isn't going to work, James."

   "What isn't going to work?" He asked worriedly. Lily looked at him.

   "We aren't going to work." She told him.

   "Why the hell aren't we going to work?" James demanded, standing up.

  "James, please.." Lily muttered weakly.

   "Please what, Lily? Please ignore my heart and my feelings and the year and a half chase I've done for you? Please ignore that we've only been going out for two weeks? Please ignore that there have been no signs of your, no, our unhappiness? Please ignore that this is completely out of the blue? Please ignore that I.." James broke off and took Lily's hands in his own.

  "James, I don't want to hurt you." She told him with pleading eyes.

  "Hurt me? Don't you think you're doing that by breaking it off?" He demanded.

  "James.. Please..." Lily whispered. He was about to get angry again. "Fine. Don't listen. Go off and find some slut that will do anything you want to get over whatever pain you say you have. Because, if you just understood, you'd leave. You'd leave and you'd let me be alone, the wonderful owner of a fortune. Eat shit, James. Eat shit and die."

  She grabbed his broom and took off.

  "Stupid.. Stupid, stupid boy.." Lily choked back a sob. "Can't understand.. One.. Stupid thing.." She sniffled. "Okay, damn it.. You've broken up with boys before! You've separated yourself from this stupid, stupid.." She began to cry again.

  "Silly girl.. You think you can get over James Potter like this?"

  Sirius stormed into the Common Room. "WHAT'D YOU DO TO HER?"

  James looked up sadly with confusion. "Huh?"

  "She's crying. Because of you." Sirius snapped quickly. "What'd you do to her?"

  "Your Spidey-sense is off, man.." James muttered.

  "Tell me." Sirius demanded. 

  "If you want to know, Hercules, she dumped me." James told him sadly. "She's doing it again. Blocking me off. Kicking me out of her life."

  "Dumped you, did she? She might have an ulterior motive coming up." Sirius muttered quietly, letting James walk on his way. "And there's only one way to find out."

  "The worst part, Sirius, I don't want to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. And I was going to go home with James, but.. And I know you're going home, you lucky son of a-- And if I go to my house, I lose the entire fortune." Lily explained, her teary emerald eyes looking down at the floor. "I want my mom."

  Sirius put his arm around Lily and pulled her closer, so that she could cry again. For somebody who was the dumper, she wasn't doing very well.

  "We're going home for Christmas. To my brother's place." He announced. "There is no way I am leaving you this unstable."

  "Thanks a lot." She muttered sarcastically, but she hugged him. "I really need somewhere to go."

  In the fury of Christmas packing, both Lily and James came across some things that they needed to stuff under their beds. For Lily, there was the book, that pretty little book, those bubbles, the necklace, the picture and the picture frame.. There was a box brimming. She Charmed it to be invisible to everyone else, and completely undestroyable.

  "Oh. Hi." James muttered. Lily picked up her suitcase and his from the ground.

  "Hi." Lily whispered.

  "Going home for Christmas?" He asked her quietly as they sat at the train staiton.

  "Not quite. Going to Sirius's. Can't stay here, can't go home.. Are you waiting on somebody?" Lily realized she was ranting, the way she always did when she was around him.

  James gave her a small smile. She was ranting, the way she always did when she was around him. "Yeah. I'm taking Jonathan home to Godric Hollow. You?"

  "Sirius said he had some last-minute Christmas shopping to do." She murmured, looking straight ahead.

  "I wish you wouldn't do this." He admitted to her, his eyes big.

  "I wish I didn't have to."

  "Merry Christmas, Lily."

  "Merry Christmas, James."

   The train ride was pleasant. It was horrible.

   Lily and James sat on opposite sides of the compartment, each being nervous in their own way. Clarisse was going home to meet Remus's parents (Remus had calculated that this year, the full moon wouldn't occur until the 8th of January, leaving Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's all available for young fun), Jennifer and Mia were going home with their Irish cousins, Diana and Leola were going to their aunt's farm in Spain, and Coco was going to New York with her mother. Munguldus and Jackie usually went home together, but..

  Everyone was chattering in the compartment- Except Lily and James.

  "Change into your Muggle clothes, Lily."

  "Is it extremely necessary? Cloaks are in fashion."

  "But, Lily, my brother is sending a cab. We won't be forever in the high society part of London."

  "Oh, alright."

   Jennifer Potter joined her brother and her cousin on the train to Godric's Hollow, from her semester in London. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she leaned her head on her brother's shoulder- It was no longer the strong, tense shoulder it had been the years before. Now it was loose, relaxed- Sagging.

  She supposed she would have to think about it later. It was Christmas, after all.


	56. A Discovery That Lily Doesn't Act On- Ye...

  "Wow." Was the only thing Lily could say. The place looked _cool_. 

  "Yeah, I know. It's better than seven sisters and my mum, so I come here instead." Sirius muttered, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "My brother said he wouldn't be home for the weeks while we're here- He and his wife Jenny play Quidditch."

  The neighborhood was richly decorated with all sorts of Christmas ornaments, and underneath the snow and evergreens, you could see elegant red brick and iron fences. There were carolers dressed up like it was the turn of the century and the snow was falling delicately.

  Christmas was going to be sweet.

  "Lily, do you think we can have a holiday dinner the day after Christmas?" Sirius called down the staircase. Lily put her last ornament in place and thought about it a moment.

  "Certainly!" She replied loudly. She stepped back to admire the Christmas tree. "It's beautiful."

  "What's beautiful?" Sirius asked, entering the room with a grin.

  "The tree. Just look at it. Looks like something in a tiny snow globe." Lily murmured with starry eyes. She cocked her head to one side and leaned it on Sirius's shoulder. "Reminds me of Christmas with my mum."

  "I'm sorry, Lily." Sirius whispered, playing with a lock of her hair. "Was it Volde--.."

 "No, not him." Lily said with a bitter laugh. A conversation just over a year before sounded awfully familiar to the one being played out now. "I would be one big Scrooge if it was, huh?"

  Sirius nodded. Lily clutched the sleeves of her deep blue chenille sweater, as if to warm herself. Sirius went to poke at the fire, resulting in a tiny little burn. Lily smiled. Here was a home.

  "Have you finished your shopping, Lily?" Sirius asked, grabbing his jacket.

  "Not at all. Shall we go to Diagon Alley?" Lily replied, grabbing her own jacket.

  "Yeah, why don't we? We can buy invitations and send them out for the party, buy presents and more decorations... Oh the possibilities!" Sirius had that familiar glint in his eye that spelled mischief.

  Lily simply shook her head and ran upstairs to get her money.

  "He'll absolutely adore it!" Lily squealed when Sirius pulled up a fluffy white angora sweater- For Peter. "But let's be serious."

  "I am!" Sirius protested.

  Lily groaned. "You know what I mean. I'm going to Flourish and Blotts for my Ravenclaw shopping."

  Browsing through the titles, Lily bumped into someone around the Potions section.

  "Ah, Lily." The someone said in his dark green chenille coat. "Did I not tell you you'd go through two?"

  Lily looked up at Severus Snape with big eyes. "Shouldn't you be at the bottom of a gutter somewhere?"

  "If you're going to be like that, shouldn't _you_ be out Frenching some Hufflepuff to make your variety of Hogwarts' exs complete?" He asked her semi-calmly.

  They both laughed uncomfortably. "So.. How's Potter?"

  "Same as your beloved Narcissa. An ex."

  "Figured."

  "Why?"

  "Oh, come on. You couldn't stand him until you were somebody else's girlfriend or he had a girlfriend of his own. You don't want him if he's in your league- Which nobody seems to be _but_ him."

  "You're pushing this whole jealous ex thing a little far."

  "So, what are you doing on Valentine's Day?"

  "Shut up."

  "That's what I thought."

  Lily's jaw still graced the floor as Severus Snape sort of chuckled and left.

  However, she composed herself long enough to find VERY interesting books for all her Ravenclaw friends. She headed to the owl office to send Arabella a packet of pictures, and each of the Quidditch players were to receive a charm for the chain that each of them wore around their necks- The charm was the ball that they came in contact with the most. This very year, Ronan and James had decided to change positions. It was rather amusing, the first practice. James was rather used to playing with a larger ball...

  Lily stopped musing over what James did, and thought about why she had dumped him in the first place. What, they had been going out for five weeks?

  Oddly enough, James Potter seemed to sense when Lily was alone and deep in thought, because, as she was walking absentmindedly through Diagon Alley, he was doing the same thing. They, in a classic, Marx Brothers sort of way, bumped into one another.

  Lily's packages were thrown askew onto the fairly empty street (it may have been close to Christmas, but the only ones not working were probably Hogwarts students), being mixed up with James's. 

  The two scattered on the stone pavement, on their hands and knees, picking up their own packages. One was left, and in their haste, the both of them grabbed it and knocked foreheads.

  "Oh, sorry." They both muttered at the same time, looking up for the first.

  "Oh.. H-h-h-hi." Lily stammered. _Why can't I be cool around this guy? I've dated him, I've hated him, I've been his friend.. _**Have you noticed, dearie, all those were in the past tense?** _What is it with subconscious's and interrupting?_

  "Hi." He muttered.

  "Well, thanks for helping me.. I'll be go--.."

  Sirius bounced over to his best friends. "Let's go grab an ice cream!"

  Lily looked at the bottom of her bowl as if it was the most interesting thing in the world as James and Sirius chattered about the Quidditch match two days after Christmas that James had three tickets to.

  "So.. Lily.. You going?" Sirius asked her after a moment. "Lily?"

  "Huh?"

  "Are you going to the game with us? I certainly can't leave you alone, you might just stare at the bottom of a bowl if there was to be a fire!" Sirius said this with a laugh.

  "Yeah, yeah, whatever.." Lily muttered distractedly, moving her spoon to scoop up some of her melted ice cream mush, but she didn't put any in her mouth.

  "What is WRONG with you, Lils?" Sirius asked her, nudging her to be conscious of the world around her.

  "Ran into Snapey-poo today."

  "What did the stupid git say?" James groaned.  

   _"So, what are you doing on Valentine's Day?"_

_  "Shut up."_

_  "That's what I thought."_

  "Something rather motivating." Lily managed to say, getting up. "Well, Sirius, I have to go buy decorations for the party. I really think it would be a waste of paper to invite your friend through an owl, so why don't you ask him yourself?"

  Lily sort of smirked in spite of her aching heart and went off to buy decorations.

  "Suppose you were married, Lily dearest. What kind of wife do you think you would be?" Charity asked as she arrived. "Christmas is such a horrid holiday. I get stuck in a foreign country every time I try to go home. I thought I'd look you up and here you are!"

  "I would be such a horrible wife. I can't cook, I hate to clean- I'm meant for high society, I suppose." Lily said, before popping a chocolate into her mouth. "Come in, come in. You can keep me company. Sirius and his little friend are just so annoying."

  "You speak of him like he is a little brother." Charity said with a laugh. "His little friend? I certainly thought he was more than that--.."

  "Oh, Charity!" Lily threw up her hands in disgust, sending some chocolates flying into the other room.

  "Lily, do warn us the next time you plan on starting a food fight!" Sirius snapped irritably.

  Charity's eyes glanced at the grumpy Sirius, then she looked back at Lily. "Is it just me or is Sirius really living up to his name?"

  "They're talking Quidditch and something else." Lily mumbled with a shrug. "Let's go. Boys are such spoilsports."

  "Whenever you're ready, Lily." Charity replied.

  "We have to do make-up the Muggle way."

  "Oh poo."

  "My American friend, please do not even try your hand at British slang."

  "Why not, Lily dearest?"

  "You're simply horrid at it."

  "Someone's feeling prim and proper tonight."

  "Oh shut up, Charity."

   "You're such a spoilsport."

  "Charity!"

   "Where on earth do you girls think you are going?" Sirius asked as Lily and Charity made their way to the door. "Without us?"

  Lily broke into a grin.

  "Oysher.. Lilsh.. I finks I lef my scafy-wafy in ze oder comparmen.." Sirius slurred.

  "Who knew one fake i.d. could get one so far?" Charity chirped. "And Sirius is the only one who gets drunk. Classic. I'm going with him so he doesn't help the economy or anything."

  Lily laughed at her friend's implying remark that Sirius would pick up a hooker or get arrested or something. But then she realized she was all alone in a compartment of a Muggle underground with a little girl dressed in holiday party clothing and furs and James Potter.

  The underground stopped with a jolt at the next stop and Lily flew easily into James's arms. Her velvety black coat over her light blue dress sort of accented her contrasting personality at that exact moment and the little girl giggled as James helped Lily onto her feet.

  "What is so funny?" Lily asked sweetly, sitting down next to the little girl and clutching her hand bag in her lap.

  "You two look so romantical." She said in a babyish American accent. "My mommy and daddy watch movies all the time when the girl falls in love with the boy and he catches her somehow when she's falling."

  Lily sort of blushed. "My name's Lily. What's yours?"

  "I'm Samantha. I'm six. How old are you?" She settled herself closer to Lily while James still held onto the bar he had been clutching to, one of his hands shoved in his coat pocket.

  "I'm sixteen. Almost seventeen." Lily loved children, and she smiled at Samantha. "You're wise for such a little—For a girl your age."

  "Thank you." Samantha chirped. Samantha's parents came in, apologizing for the inconvenience.

  "No trouble at all. Your little girl is really sweet." Lily replied, sort of standing up next to James, as if for protection.

  "You two look adorable. Like George and I used to look when we were young. How long have you been seeing one another?" The lady asked as she took Samantha's small hand in her own.

  "Me and James? N-n-n-no.. I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong impress--.." Lily looked to James, her long red hair sort of swishing, as if to accent her worried face. She was pleading with her eyes.

  "Lily and I only share mutual friends, who, at the moment, are in another compartment." James told them flatly.

  "Young love these days." 'George' snorted. "Come Samantha, Roberta. Lovely meeting you."

  Lily began to laugh insanely once they left. She was laughing so hard that she nearly collapsed, bringing James down with her.

  "We're not dating anymore." James told her as he helped her up.

  "I know."

  "You ought to."

  Lily sat down. James stood up. The rest of the ride was silent. 


	57. Happy Holidays Everyone

  "This one or this one?" Lily held up two dresses. Sirius rolled his eyes.

  "Ask Charity." Sirius muttered, not even looking at the dresses she was holding.

  "She's out." Lily informed him. "Which one?"

  Sirius glanced at the dresses. Christmas was definitely a Lily season. All the good colors on her were seasonal. One of the dresses was deep green with silver ruffles and trim. Sirius scowled. It was a very, well, _Slytherin_ dress. The other was cream-colored with golden accents. The green dress had short sleeves and a long skirt, while the lighter-colored dress had long sleeves and a shorter skirt.

  "The white one." Sirius told her.

  "It's not white!" Lily protested. "One never wears all-white after Labor Day, duh!"

  "Whatever color it is, the lighter dress. Well, actually, it depends on what you're serving." Sirius told her. Lily looked frustrated. She draped the dresses over the arm of a nearby chair and placed her hands on her hips.

  "What on earth are you talking about?" She demanded.

  "Well, Peter's coming. If you're serving anything that stains very badly, you won't want the light-colored dress." Sirius explained.

  "We're serving lasagna and turkey and some other stuff." Lily told him.

  "I'd go get another dress. The green is too, Snape, and the light one will get stained." Sirius told her matter-of-factly, as he turned back to his Quidditch magazine.

  Lily groaned and went back upstairs.

  "Merry Christmas, Lils." Sirius mumbled with a sly smile.

  "Okay, Sirius. Here's the deal. While I'm upstairs, you are to get the food out of the stove, and put it in the nice dishes on the counter. I labeled them with butter letters so you could figure out which dish goes onto which platter. On the little lace things on the table, there are labels so you know where to put the food. Cover each dish. There are place-cards in front of each chair, and you are to put one of the golden boxes to the right of each card. That should take you an hour. I will be down in forty-five minutes. Alright?" Lily asked him. Sirius nodded. "And don't stain that sweater."

  Sirius was wearing Lily's gift- A deep blue cashmere sweater, and his own khakis (they won over Lily's suggestion of dark gray slacks). Lily hopped upstairs, and Sirius set to work. Lily had sent for her best silver filgree dishes to serve the food in, and Sirius had his own silverware set to add to the charm. And then a set of gorgeous floral China at each place added class.

  Meanwhile, Lily found a pretty light-blue blouse with an assymetrical cross-over V-neckline, three-quarter sleeves with ruffles and a white collar. Her skirt was pencil-straight and deep blue. She slipped into a pair of bright blue silk stockings and a pair of black pumps.

  "Sirius better not stain his sweater." Lily muttered, sweeping up her hair and pinning a golden lion head brooch to her collar. She put a pair of diamond studs on her ears and looked at herself with satisfaction.

  "Golden boxes.. Yum." Sirius stood, eating chocolates and arranging the presents under the tree. He had finished in half an hour, and Lily was supposed to come down in fifteen minutes. The room looked nice- The wallpaper was cream colored with glistening gold stripes no wider than a piece of string. On one wall there was the red brick fireplace with shining darkwood frames, in the corner on the opposite walls was the small Christmas tree, and the table was dark and set with doilies and china with the Hogwarts seal and crystal goblets.

  Sirius put a golden box full of candy on each plate, behind the place cards. But there was something wrong. Lily was in between Remus and Clarisse (who, he knew for a fact, would not be satisfied with the separation at all). He moved Clarisse and Remus next to one another so that Lily ended up next to James. He gave a small smile.

  "I'm coming." Lily shouted as she ran down the red carpet, the one trimmed with white lace. It lined the dark staircase, and Lily put the last touch on her gold earrings (it had taken her ten minutes to decide they were more festive than those diamond studs).

  "Sirius, where are you?" She muttered under her breath. She knew she should have been down there earlier- Almost all of her guests must have been there. Out one of the windows, she noticed it had begun to drizzle.

   "Who is it?" Lily rushed, opening the door with anticipation. Standing there under the small roof that covered the top step of the stoop was an amazing brunette wearing a trenchcoat and dark clothing.

  "Oh. Hi." Lily managed to squeak. "Come in."

  James took off his hat and Lily helped him with his coat, pulling it several times so it would drip on the doormat. She hung it up and led him to the dining room.

  _His hand. I'm touching his hand_.

  _My hand. She's touching my hand._

  Lily pulled her fingers away. "There. You're sitting next to Remus and—Wait.." Lily frowned. Everyone turned. "Hi James! Hi Lily!"

  "Hi." She murmured.

  "Hello." His deep voice rumbled.

 Lily took her seat and slipped her hands onto the edges of her chair, clutching them with a nervous look on her face.

  James sort of chuckled, taking his seat. He had heard her gasp after her little ramble, and he saw her fingers go automatically to the edge of her seat. When was the last time she had done that? She must have been twelve- At the Embassy ball.

  "Lily and I have been slaving over a hot stove all day--.." Sirius began. Lily coughed loudly. "Alright, alright. Lily has been slaving over the hot stove and her desk, planning every detail. Enjoy."

  All at once everyone started to talk and eat and laugh. Lily liked it- Seeing all her friends in one spot after Christmas. She supposed she must have been pretty silent, just sitting there.

  James glanced at Lily quickly as Coco took a breath before continuing to argue with him about the better brooms. She was looking around happily, and silently, but her hands were still nervously on her chair. He slipped his hand under the tablecloth and took her hand in his, squeezing it a bit. Her hand relaxed and the other one flew up to get some food on her plate. They both smiled like dorkbrains (as Peter put it) and enjoyed the evening.

  "Come on, everyone- There's half a million gifts underneath the tree and they haven't even been opened yet!" Sirius exclaimed. Soon the air was filled with colorful ribbons and wrapping paper.

  "It's great!"

  "Thanks!"

  "I'll wear it forever and forever!"

  "It's nice, Lils." James whispered as she quietly led him aside. Into the doorway. "I'm pretty sure that I'll fly faster for that Snitch now."

  "Thanks. It was definitely something I thought you would like." Lily said, blushing.

  "You want to go outside?" James asked quietly.

  "Yeah. Let Sirius handle this rowdy crowd." Lily joked, slipping her hand into his.

    "The air is so cold." Lily whispered, rubbing her arms. She had just put her coat on top of James's on the rail nearby, thinking she could take the wintry air.

   "I feel warm standing next to you." James admitted.

    "Or maybe it's the mistletoe?" Lily asked him slyly.

  "Maybe." James shrugged. They both leaned in. As their lips met, Lily slowly slid her arms around James's neck and his arms circled her waist.

  "Come on, guys!" Sirius exclaimed in a loud, excited whisper. They peeked out of the lace curtain on the long, narrow window.

  "It's so romantical." Remus whispered. The boys laughed, while the girls rolled their eyes.

  "I'm glad I put up mistletoe this year." Sirius told them.

  "Aren't we all?" Clarisse asked, snuggling closer to Remus.

  "Oh. No.. I can't do this." Lily's brow wrinkled up as she pulled away.

  "Why not, Lils?" James pleaded with her as she grabbed her coat. "Where are you going?"

  "Anywhere where Christmas isn't made into the doomed romance." Lily told him.

  "Why are you so scared of me?" James yelled as her heels clicked on the red brick path towards the street.

  Lily whirled around. There was James. James Potter. Looking dishelved, yet so perfect on her stoop. He was running his hand through his hair again. True to his nature. She laughed bitterly as she watched his pleading eyes.

  But then she frowned worriedly. " I really don't think you know what I was meant for. I'm a doll that is supposed to be on display for everyone to see- The sparkling angel on top of one's Christmas tree. Everyone compliments it, and someone pushes special love towards it, but no one really, really wants it. They want it for display. Christmas ornaments aren't meant to be toys, James. They aren't supposed to be something you treasure and enjoy for a long time."

  "You are not a Christmas ornament. You are a beautiful young billionare and I can't stand it that you are arguing with me over my love for you." James told her.

  "You love me?" She asked quietly.

  "You really are a Christmas tree topper. You can't see out of your own eyes when somebody absolutely adores you, can you?" He demanded.

  "Well, I guess I can't. Merry Christmas, James Potter." Lily pulled her coat closer, turning around and walking down the street. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she was going somewhere. No way was she going back to that house.

  James looked down at his feet. "Merry Christmas, Lily Evans."


	58. Enter Belle Bernhardt

  Lily Evans looked at her hair in the mirror. Her eyes had become big like the girls at Beauxbatons. They all had huge blue eyes of some kind. Her eyes may have been green, and her hair may not have been blonde like the other girls, but it was long and bouncy and her eyes were big, sparkling, and looking behind very black lashes.

  She smiled in spite of all of her Beauxbatons training. It was not a cool, confident smile, like the ones she normally sported, but a genuine smile. She had come a long way.

  It wasn't only the eyes and the hair that had changed about her physical appearance. She was the red-haired Barbie. Without the perky smile. This meaning, like all girls at Beauxbatons, she had—She was voluptuous. Curvy. Well. At least in one area.

  Lily was now seventeen, and going back to Hogwarts. She wanted to finish out her years in England, where she knew she could get a job without being looked down upon as a dirty Brit. And, now with her new past and her rearranged future, she was prepared to face whatever it was she was going to face.

  Lillian Isabelle Evans. She could accept her name now. She _would _be resorted, on account of she was now Isabelle Angelique Bernhardt. So she wouldn't have to see _them_ ever again. Ever.

  They were her friends, yes, but now, surely by now, they were James's friends.

  "What are you doing, Evans? You can handle him." Lily frowned, using her English for the first time in six months. She rubbed her right eye. "What have you been here for?"

  "Lily!" A French voice called her. More French followed, insisting that they needed to go.

  "Oui oui." She replied, picking up her bags. She was going home. Her home. England.

  "Francois, it looks fabulous!" Lily exclaimed, dropping her bags.

  "I am glad to see the mademoiselle has not forgotten English- Even if it is, how do you say, touched with French?" Francois joked. "How was France?"

  "Absolutely gorgeous. And do I have an accent? Wonderful!" Lily exclaimed. Her accent was a bit French with her native London swirling around somewhere. Francois, the butler that Claire had dismissed, was back and he had taught her French long before she had run away.

  Lily looked around the room. It was creamy beige all over. From the marble to the chandelier, to the magnificent spiraling staircase. This was her foyer with her rug- The one that smelled like peppermint and the portrait of her as a little girl with her mother and her father.

  "Will the mademoiselle want to go upstairs? All of the things you left at your other school and Mr. Black's are neatly put away." Francois told her kindly. He had always called her 'the mademoiselle'. Not 'mademoiselle' or 'madam'. But 'the mademoiselle'. That was what influenced her to go to France.

  Joyfully skipping up the stairs, she stopped. She remembered sitting on that street with her wallet inside her coat and that being all she had, and she went to Gringotts. Naturally, her wand was in her pocket, and she entered herself into Beauxbatons. Her roommates told her she had cried herself to sleep for weeks. But after she stopped crying, she stopped remembering. Remembering her time spent at Hogwarts so she would just, well, forget. She hired back the staff that had become her family and fired the ones that had been her guards. She became everyone's favorite little heiress.

  And now she was home.

  What might have happened if she had just gone inside? If she had just gone to the silly Quidditch game?

  Charity visited her often. She and Arabella were the only ones from Hogwarts she chose to remember. She couldn't even recall who had given her a little music box she treasured- She had still been crying when she had received it from a nice girl in her dormitory.

  Charity had visited her before she left Paris for a tour, and before Lily had said her last goodbyes. Her friend Nadia had told her excitedly that her superstar friend had come to visit her, in fast French, of course, and Charity said in not so fluent French that she looked like a knock-out.

  It was true. Lily's look hadn't really changed. It was still elegant. But now, not only was it touched with way more style, it was less. Not less as in less elegant or less perky. There was just less of the clothing.

  "The Mademoiselle has a bit of shopping to do. Your Headmaster has requested your acceptance as Head Girl, as your former record in France is extremely good and your application is full of compliments, and he asked for you to be shopping tomorrow for a lot of dress robes." Francois called. "I am sending up Cherie to help you unpack and to chitter chatter."

  Cherie had been the very young French maid when Lily was eleven, and now she was about twenty-three years old and very refined looking. Her haircut was close to her head and sleek.

  "Mademoiselle- How was Paris?" Cherie began to chatter, true to character. Lily described, not only in detail, but in French, about her escapades and her new friends, Nadia and Georgette.

  "They call me Belle, now. They shortened my middle name." Lily finished in French.

  "Well, mademoiselle- You are no longer a mademoiselle. You are the mistress of the house." Cherie replied in English. "Tomorrow I will wake you up and you are to go shopping and you are to meet the Head Boy at this ice cream shop at noon. He will have his badge on and I have put a badge on a lovely top of yours."

  Lily smiled. It was hard for Cherie to say so much in English. "Go on. Chatter in French."

  Cherie gave her a grateful smile and followed the order.

  "Head Boy." Lily murmured to herself under Cherie's chatter. "Wonder who he is?"

  James smiled wide. "Mum! Jenny! Tara! Padfoot! Moony! Everybody!"

  He scattered down the stairs and met his family and friends in the living room. "You're looking at this year's Head Boy!" He was still waving his letter in the air.

  James's mum went up and hugged him, as well as giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "That's my boy!"

  Tara and Jenny exclaimed their congratulations, and his friends each gave him a pat on the back. Mrs. Potter took the letter from James.

  Coco, however, was not pleased. "I do hope they appoint a Ravenclaw girl for Head Girl."

  "And who would they put in charge, Sarah Barnes?" Diana put in argument. "Either that or one of her friends, or else we would have gotten a letter."

  She was right. Almost all of the Ravenclaw girls were here and enjoying the country pleasures of the Potters' Manchester estate.

  "Let's pack for London! I will owl all of your parents! James has to meet the Head Girl tomorrow at noon and we can't be late!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. Everyone in the room scrambled out of their seats and hurried upstairs.

  Julian Potter sighed with happiness, dropping into a large chair.

   "So what if the Head Girl is hot?" Peter asked interestedly. Everyone looked to Munguldus.

  "She is. And she used to attend Beauxbatons." Munguldus muttered, rubbing his temples. "You know, my powers are not like a television. You can't turn them on and off."

  "Oh, be quiet. French girl, eh? You've dated one of those." Remus chirped. The boys were putting in their nice clothes. "So, are we going to pull an OHJIBIY?"

  "If you want. But you guys remember- there are other girls to entertain." James muttered wearily. "What if they freak out and interrupt?"

  "James, you obviously don't know these girls well. They'll probably join in the spying." Sirius said wisely.

  "It's true!" Ronan exclaimed. "What color hair does she have?"

  "Not a TV.!!!" Munguldus exclaimed. "It's dark red."

  James scowled a bit, then plastered on a smile. "That should be a challenge. The eyes?"

  "Damn. It's gone out." Munguldus lied. They were green.

  "It's okay, Mung- You're right. We shouldn't be using your powers." Remus commented.

  "Nervous, Jamie?" Peter asked.

  "Kind of. French girls are pretty aloof." James admitted, sitting down on his bed.

  "But very fun." Sirius raised his eyebrows, implying a lot.

    Lily wrung her hands in her lap. The black iron tables surrounded by that matching gate sort of closed her in. She had been speaking English all day, and she still had a very heavy accent.

  The top was pretty. It was a shiny blue silk shell that had a matching cardigan that was too heavy to wear. With a pair of her tightest and best jeans, she had slipped on a pair of expensive sunglasses and high heels and still, despite everything, she was wringing her hands in her lap.

  She sincerely hoped it was not a Gryffindor. If it was, he would recognize her. He would know everything about her. Even with the accent, she was still Lily. The sunshine was good. Glaring so much it would not get in her partner's eyes, but enough to force her to keep her sunglasses on.

  Lily crossed her legs. Then she uncrossed her legs. Then she recrossed her legs. "Oh, come already!" She exclaimed in French, swearing a bit as well.

  "Excuse me, sorry I'm late. My friends and I were having a blast at the Quidditch store." The deep, familiar voice echoed behind her. Lily's head snapped toward him. The eyes were dark blue and framed with thin silver frames on his thin glasses. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped it wasn't who she thought it was. Her eyes were still shut when he continued. "You do have Quidditch in France, don't you?"

  Lily opened one eye. His hair was dark. And messy. She stomped her foot in frustration.

  "Of course you have Quidditch. What am I thinking? The players with the flamboyant pink robes?"

  Lily nodded. 

  "So you do understand English. Good." He sighed a breath of relief.

  "Bonjour." Lily said intelligently.

  "So you don't understand English?" His voice suddenly filled with apologies and frustration.

  "No. I am—I learned English a long time ago." Lily said, hoping her accent was heavy enough for him not to recognize her.

  "My name is James Potter. What's yours?" He asked. "I'll have the hot fudge sundae with the Chocolate Frog pieces in it."

  "My friends call me Belle." Lily whispered. It wasn't _exactly_ a lie.

  "Well, Belle, I'm glad we will be working together. Do you know if you'll be in the Gryffindor house? There are no girls in the Gryffindor house, the last one left us earlier this year. Her room is still there. Not quite as stylish as it used to be, but it's still decorated the way she left it, with all the ruffles and wallpaper and--- You must think I'm a dolt. I tend to babble when I'm nervous.."

  "I hope to be in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." Lily told him, her accent still deep. She'd have to speak French to herself everyday in order to keep the accent.

  "The best choices!" He exclaimed. "You look like you're going to a Ravenclaw Quidditch scrimmage."

  Lily smiled as her sundae arrived. She noticed James's eyes widened as her order, the one she had made before his arrival, was identical to his own.

  "I like Chocolate Frogs." Lily whispered with a shrug.  

  But of course, the truth was that Lily, two or three years ago in a desperate attempt to please James, had discovered the joys of Chocolate Frogs.

  James looked at her intensely for a moment. "Belle, I know this will sound creepy or something, but you remind me of someone- As if we've met before."

  _We have_. "Go on."

  "It's like you were this girl- This fabulous, smart, intelligent, funny, athletic, gorgeous girl that I really miss. This girl that broke my heart and her own three thousand times..." James sort of chuckled at himself. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you this."

  He looked up again, and Lily was speechless. "Well, people tell me I'm easy to talk to.." **_You _**_told me I'm easy to talk to._

  "Like when I pulled Sever- This horribly ugly dolt- Away from danger, I couldn't talk for weeks. We still don't talk about it.. But it's like.." James stopped musing. "What color are your eyes?"

  "Excuse me?" Lily began to panic.

  "Sorry. This girl.. She had the most intense green eyes.." James admitted.

  "You must have loved her." _Please say you do._

   "I did."

   "It's been lovely talking to you." Lily muttered, attempting to get up. "I don't exactly know what the point was of this meeting, but I'm glad we had it."

  "Dumbledore believes the Head Boy and Girl should know each other well before they start." James said with a shrug. He leaned forward in his seat. "You know, one of the last Head Boys and Head Girls were supposed to get married."

  Lily got up, gathered her things, and put in her share of the bill. "Yes." She told him, staring at him intensely. "I know."

  "Total hottie." Sirius muttered. "French, you say?"

  James nodded. This girl- This mysterious Belle- She—Dumbledore's plan to get the Head Boy and Girl closer by meeting one another usually worked- Rafe and Helen almost got married! But James had a feeling that he let his guard down and Belle was the one who benefited from this meeting. All he knew was she was French, wanted to be in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, liked Chocolate Frogs and blue, was stylish, perfect- Practically Lily- And her name was Belle.

  "Yeah. She's French." James sort of snorted in thought.

  James and Sirius made it a point to travel to King's Cross every year together, and now they sat in the back of a cab with Jennifer, both of them nervously playing with the creases on their slacks.

  "What school you three from?" The driver stabbed at a conversation.

  "Eton." James said immediately. "We're taking a train to visit family up in Scotland- we've just come from break."

  "Eton has year-round schooling?" The cab driver's narrowed eyes were full of suspicion.

  "We're orphans- Rich orphans." Sirius lied quickly.

  "Pad--.." Jennifer began.

  "Patrick—Jenny means to tell you that you shouldn't inflict our family life on this poor driver." James covered quickly.

  "Oh. Sorry." Sirius muttered.

  "Riiiight." 

  "The Mademoiselle has everything?" Francois and Cherie fussed. They looked like the perfect French uncle and aunt.

  "Everything, Uncle." Lily replied. "Remember- My name is Belle- Isabelle Angelique Bernhardt to be exact- And you are Francois Bernhardt, my father's brother, and you are Cherie Delacour, my mother's sister. We live in a small, two-story red brick house in Godric's Hollow."

  The entire conversation was entirely in French, and James only caught the French-sounding Godric's Hollow when he passed her at the station.

  "Belle!" He exclaimed, noting to himself to learn French.

  "Ah, James!" He noticed that the J sounded very vibrating. "This is my pappa's brother, Uncle Francois, and this is my Maman's sister, Aunt Cherie. They have taken me in."

  "Pleased to meet you, Mr.. Belle.." James noted that he didn't even know the girl's last name.

  "I am Monsieur Francois Bernhardt, and that is Madam Delacour." Francois told him. "My niece Isabelle tends to skip details."

  Lily laughed. "Are you here alone?"

  "My friend Sirius and my little sister Jennifer are here. Somewhere." James sort of put up his hands in the air casually.

  "You look like one of those Muggle boys at the prep school in Paris." Lily said, still very heavy on the French and laughing. "Except you look more comfortable."

  "Are you calling me a prep?" James challenged, remembering a similar conversation with a different person. He glanced at her eyes.

  "Of course—Is there something on my face?" She asked in wonder.

  "No.. Not at all." James recovered. "That person you reminded me of- Less hair, smaller eyes.. Very, er.."

  "Maybe you should owl her." Lily told him. "If she's so incredibly important, why haven't you gone in pursuit of her?"

  "Now, Isabelle, the boy might have a—Oh goodness, we have to go. Our train back home is boarding. Have a lovely year, Isabelle." Cherie bent over, giving her a peck on the cheek. She whispered an encouraging statement in French and the two went on their way.

  "Well, Miss Bernhardt, have you decided which house you want to be in?" Sirius put forward, not getting a good look of her. "My friend here told me you want to be in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. The two finest houses, I noticed."

  Lily tried not to flinch at the familiar voice. "I do not believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Isabelle Angelique Bernhardt. Who are you?"

  Sirius's eyes widened when the girl, if not for the incredibly huge eyes, French accent and big red hair, would have been Lily. "Excuse me. My name is Sirius Aries Black. I am James's closest friend."

  Lily sort of thought he had always been _her_ closest friend.

  "Lovely to meet you." Lily responded. Jennifer gasped and stared at her in horror. Lily winked very quickly, sure that Jennifer knew what was going on.

  "Huh- Will you be joining us, Li- Isabelle?" Jennifer caught on quickly for an eleven year old.

  "Certainly. You must be James's little sister. Oh, and you can call me Belle." Lily smiled the way she had learned at Beauxbatons- The smile that made people feel privileged to gain that smile.

  It worked.

  "Well, Belle, you certainly can't walk through that barrier on your own- The Slytherins might pounce on you." Sirius told her, offering his arm.

  _"So, what are you doing on Valentine's Day?"_

_  "Shut up."_

_  "That's what I thought."_

  "Why, thank you. Exactly who are the Slytherins?" Lily asked as she pushed her cart gracefully through the barrier- Sirius had piled his trunk underneath her matching set of luggage.

  "The slimiest gits on the planet. I thought James here would have mentioned them. Or maybe he was too caught up in your resemblance to a certain lady friend of his. Or rather, certain _ex_ lady friend of his." Sirius explained. James and Jennifer were deep in conversation. "Go on, James, I'm going to introduce Belle here to our crew. Get your sister settled."

  He laughed in a very fake manner and turned to Lily and hissed in her ear. "Both Jennifer and I know who you are! Jennifer just figured it out but I knew it from the instant I saw you in Diagon Alley! Who are you pretending to be? We like you just the way you are!"

  Lily removed her arm from the hook of Sirius's. "I am going to pretend like I don't know what you're talking about. And if you ever speak to me as Lillian Isabelle Evans ever again, you will find yourself looking like figures in Most Potent Potions."

  Lily turned on her heel and left with the cart.


	59. And Belle Begins To Re-Introduce Herself...

   "Her name is Belle Bernhardt. Already made the quick judgments that Sirius is annoying and James is _the_ accessory to have." Sarah Barnes spat bitterly. "If that wasn't bad enough, she looks almost exactly like Lily Evans."

  "Lily Evans? Didn't she disappear to Switzerland or something?" Ashley laughed bitterly. The other three joined in the laughter.

  "Excuse me." A heavy French accent over the two English words made the four Ravenclaws look up.

  There was a very beautiful redhead standing in the doorway. The two Ravenclaws and the two Slytherins shot glares at her, shifting their trunks into the remaining seats.

  "Oh. You're full. I'll move on, then." The accent remained, and the redhead pushed her cart forwards.

  "Where are Remus and Peter?" Sirius snapped as he and James sat down across from Jennifer.

  "They're in Clarisse and Mia's compartment. Clarisse begged Mia to stay, and we didn't want to put up with Peter." Jennifer replied chirpily.

  "Excuse me." The three looked up to find a distressed Belle standing in the doorway. "Oh, it's you, James, Jennifer, Sirius."

  James loved the way she said his name.

  (A/N: This is where Belle's accent will sneak through.) 

  "All ze compartaements, zey are full. Or, in ze case of ze last compartaement, I am unvanted." Belle sighed. "I can only 'ope zere is rrroom forrr me 'ere." 

  Sirius smiled. This was exactly the way Lily had been in her third year, the year that James didn't return. Unpopular and unwanted, Arabella had offered her a spot where James would have sat.

  "Come on in, Belle. There's always room for you here." Sirius patted the seat across from James with a wider grin.

  'Belle' was surprised. This person, he knew who she was, who she was deceiving. But she smiled in spite of herself.

  "Z'ank you." 

  "So, are they going to make you do your Sorting with us first years?" Jennifer piped.

  "Oh, no. Professor McGonagall, she says zat I may be Sorted separately. Imajjjine, a seventh year sitting on zat stool!" Belle clamped her hand over her mouth. "I've read very much about it."

  She laughed uncomfortably, and James didn't even notice.

  "What do you like to do, Belle?" Jennifer asked with a wink.

  "Well.. I enjjoy a nice swim every now and zen, I love to zrow and attend parties, I love to daunce.. And, Quidditch. I love Quidditch." Belle smiled. "I enjjoy Muggle literazure.. It iz, verrry, how you say? Amussing."

  "What position do you play, Belle?" Sirius asked, winking like Jennifer did.

  "Oh, vell, I orrijjinally played Keepair, but zen I became a Seekair, and zen I learned to play ze Chasair posision.. I'm verrry vell-rounded." Belle smiled again.

  "Muggle literature, eh?" James found his voice. "Shakespeare?"

  "Vy, yaes.. I do verrry much enjjoy 'is idea of love." Belle looked out the window. "I do not suppose I vant to be in Rrravenclaw."

  "Why not?" James wrinkled his brow. "You didn't mind earlier."

  "Vell, that was before I stopped at zis one compartment. Two of ze girls 'ad blue and black striped scarves on, and two of ze girls 'ad green and silver scarves. All of zem moved z'ere trunks so zat ze remaining seats were occupied. I do not zink zey like me." Belle hung her head sadly.

  (A/N: Okay, now the French accent is even annoying ME. But you get the point, right.. This is pretty much how Belle sounds. Back to typing normally.)

  "Well, I'm glad Gryffindor is your only option, now." Sirius said sincerely. "We need a Gryffindor girl." 

  "Do you mean to say that there are absolutely NO girls in the Gryffindor house? It will be a nightmare, like having half a million brothers!" Belle looked horrified.

  "Oh, no.. Sirius and James meant to imply that there are no girls in seventh year from the Gryffindor house. Besides, Sirius knows what its like to have a lot of siblings of the opposite gender. He has seven sisters and a brother." Jennifer reassured her. "I am surely going to be in the Gryffindor house, so you at least have me."

  Sirius and Jennifer smiled at her with their honest emotions- They were happy she was back.

  James smiled too. Belle was going to make this year very, very interesting.

   "James! Sirius! Jennifer!" Belle ran into the Great Hall waving her arms above her head. The Sorting hadn't started yet, due to the fact that the hat was on Belle's head still. The entire hall looked up to see and hear a very beautiful French girl running in. "I'm in Gryffindor!"

  She ran to Sirius to hug him, and he spun her around. "That's my girl!"

  "Oh, hi." All the seventh year Gryffindors (all being boys) stood up as Remus spoke. "James and Sirius do like to keep pretty women to themselves."

  Belle blushed and she, Sirius and Jennifer grinned. He obviously had no idea who she was.

  "Hi. I'm Isabelle Bernhardt, but you _must_ call me Belle." She said softly and sweetly. "You are?"

  "Atten-sion!" Sirius demanded. The boys stood stiff like soldiers. "Roll-Call!"

  Belle giggled.

  "Paul Eastman." The blonde, sleepy-looking boy said.

  "Ronan Figg, at your service." A very light-haired boy offered his hand to her. She shook it.

  Munguldus took a double-take before reciting his name slowly and confusedly.

  "Logan Houston." A boy with very dark blonde curls told her his name with a goofy grin.

  An African-American (definitely by the accent) offered her his hand. "Ethan Lincoln."

  A boy with slicked-back blonde hair shook her still-outstretched hand. "I'm Tad Lowe."

  "Remus Lupin. Very close friend of Sirius and James's." Belle smiled again. He was still turning on all the Marauder charm.

  A boy with spiked brown hair winked at her. "I'm George Meyer, milady."

  Sirius shook his head, remembering the time in fourth year that George to Lily so angry she accidentally shaved his head with the spell that came out of her mouth.

  A boy with light blonde curls that resembled Logan (including the goofy grin) recited his name. He was Christopher Morgan.

  A playful boy with red hair smiled at her. "Patrick Murphy."

  A chubby blonde boy mumbled his name, Peter Pettigrew.

  "Later you will have to meet our Ravenclaw friends. And no, they never associate with Sarah Barnes, who I believe was the one who was rude to you." Sirius told her confidently.

  "You must have had the most terribly long sorting." She said softly.

  "Oh yes, and then there were three girls going into Gryffindor, so there were twenty new Gryffindors!" Tad told her. "It was rather funny. This one girl, Lily, had to wait the longest because she had been put down as Lily Zerkofsky instead of her name, Lily Evans."

   Belle laughed uncomfortably. She remembered that.

  "And, boys, she plays Quidditch! That means we can all have a scrimmage on Saturday!" James proclaimed loudly. "I'm the Gryffindor Quidditch captain." He whispered to her. "All the boys play, and we haven't been able to have a our year only scrimmage because there weren't enough people in Gryffindor. But now, there is!" 

  She smiled at him before taking a seat. Professor McGonagall was glaring at her.

  "Miss Bernhardt?" She asked, tapping her foot.

  "Oh!" Belle took the hat off of her head and walked to the front of the room. "Sorry."

  She smiled at some of the Ravenclaw seventh years, the rude ones. They scowled. But the other Ravenclaw seventh year girls smiled back. She returned to her seat.

  "Smooth, Lily." Sirius muttered in her ear. She elbowed him.

  "My name is Belle." She hissed in return.

  "Whatever you say." Sirius shrugged. He placed his hand gently on the small of her back. "Be a good girl, will you?"

   "I'm _always_ a good girl." She replied.

   Sirius simply grinned.

  "What is her name?" Severus Snape demanded.

  "What is whose name?" Zahn Michaels narrowed her eyes.

  "The girl. The auburn-haired girl that was sitting at the Gryffindor table with the seventh years." He replied impatiently.

  "Oh, Sevvy, she's just a Gryffindor. A Gryffindor seventh year girl. Think, Sevvy, think." Zahn tapped a finger on her forehead, and flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

  "The list of students comes out.. In ten minutes! Thanks, Zahn!" Severus looked like he was going to kiss her.

  "Don't hold back, Sevvy-boy." Zahn said with a seductive wink as he got up and headed to the Entrance Hall.

GRYFFINDOR SEVENTH YEARS

Bernhardt, Isabelle; Black, Sirius; Eastman, Paul; Figg, Ronan; Fletcher, Munguldus; Houston, Logan; Lincoln, Ethan; Lowe, Theodore (AKA Tad); Lupin, Remus; Meyer, George; Morgan, Christopher (AKA Chris); Murphy, Patrick (AKA Pat); Pettigrew, Peter; Potter, James 

HUFFLEPUFF SEVENTH YEARS

Appleby, Missy; Aschku, Appi; Chang, Robert; Chambers, Lexi; Chu, Anna; Dobbs, Adrienne; Longbottom, Frank; Patil, Ishmael; Settle, Eva Lyn; Wilson, Leanne; Williams, Otto; Zerkofsky, Boris 

RAVENCLAW SEVENTH YEARS

Barnes, Sarah; Barnes, Sean; Bryant, Ashley; Chen, Coco; Estevez, Leola (AKA Lee); Gerault, Clarisse; Jordan, Nicholas; Meyer, Sid; Morgan, Diana;  Murphy, Amelia (AKA Mia); Suarez, Jennifer (AKA Jenny) 

  Severus had read enough. Surely, Isabelle Bernhardt was the girl that he was looking for, as all the other names on the list were ones he had seen before, and the girl couldn't be a Slytherin.


	60. Reminisce

  Lily hummed to herself, the little tune from her music box. She was setting up her music box onto the dresser, when suddenly she remembered.

  Sirius pushed open the door quietly to find Lily sitting on her bed, holding her music box in one hand, and the other hand stroking a piece of cloth in her trunk. She was crying.

  "What's wrong L—Belle?" He asked soothingly, sitting down next to her. She replied in a somewhat normal voice, though still very said and very French.

  "Oh, Sirius.. I spent hours packing and repacking everything important to me and then I completely forget- Almost everything important to me belonged to Lily.. I mean, they belong to me, but if I set them out, people will know. They'll know who I am." She said sort of breathlessly, beginning to sob again.

  "What is with this whole other identity thing? We all miss Lily.. Why didn't you bring her back to us?" Sirius put an arm around her shoulder and brought her closer, so she could sob into his shirt like the old days.

  She sat up and rubbed away a tear. "No. Can't you see I ran away to forget this life? I had to leave, Sirius, I had to change. I couldn't come back until I was semi-unrecognizable. All that work, wasted.."

  He nodded as she began to cry into his shirt again. "Then what are you going to do with the things, Lily?"

  "Pack them up in boxes and owl them home, I suppose." She replied, her voice muffled. "Don't call me that."

  "Well, Belle, I'll bring the boxes and we'll pack, _together_, and I'll help you take them to the owlry." Sirius told her, pushing her away gently. "Get a hold of yourself. You're strong, you're tough. And somewhere in there, you're Lily."

  Lily nodded, getting up sadly to pick up things like her yearbook, a few sketches Munguldus had given her, things like that. As Sirius left the room, she found something else very important to her.

  The silver Princess frame. With her and James in the picture, on the gazebo. She sat down on her bed and began to cry again.

  Blonde-curled Sean Barnes and dread-locked Nick Jordan were both playing with their own Quaffles, tossing them back and forth, as they walked up to the owlry. Their jaws dropped when they saw the very pretty French girl giggling with Sirius Black, both of them holding big, cardboard boxes.

  "Oh, hello, Sean, Nick. This is my friend Belle." Sirius still had his arms full, but he nodded in her direction.

  "'Allo." She said in a fake Australian accent.

  "Stop it, Belle." Sirius looked at her with scolding in his eyes. "She's from France."

  "Hi." Sean muttered slowly, offering his hand, holding the Quaffle in his other one. Belle looked like someone.. Though exactly who he couldn't remember. She put down the box, wiped her hands on her skirt, and shook his hand.

  "Hi." Nick flashed her his infamous smile and took her hand, kissing the top of it gently. He held his Quaffle behind his back.

  "Would you boys mind helping us out a bit? Belle is sending a few things home. Her cousin's things got packed into her trunk." Sirius jerked his head in the direction of the owls.

  "Oh! Yeah.. Sure." Sean seemed a little confused, but he got four owls anyway. Nick got some twine.

  "You sure are sending home a lot." He told her as they both tied her box onto two of the owl's feet. They were on their knees, and she looked up with a smile.

  "My aunt packed my bags. She's a little spacey." 

  He noticed the French accent.

  "Well.. Um.. You're a Gryffindor, right?" His half-grin didn't throw her off.

  "Yeah." She tied the final knot. "Thanks. A whole bunch."

  "Head Girl?" He was still grinning widely.

  "Yeah.. Is it, um, traditional.. Yeah, that's it. Is it traditional to ask newcomers half a billion questions here?" She stood up, placing her hands on her hips.

  He stood up, with the owls in his hands. "No. You just heavily remind me of someone."

  Belle gulped. "Thank you, again."

  Sirius noticed her nervousness. "Well, we really should get back, else McGonagall will fry us."

  "Yeah, she can be like that." Sean replied coolly. "Quidditch scrimmage on Saturday, right, Sirius? See you around, Belle."

   Both Ravenclaw boys noticed that though Sirius had his arm around the girl, it was in a way more brotherly than romantic.

  "You boys look absolutely adorable!" Belle proclaimed in her best British, though it still was touched with French. "Like boys at Eton!"

  The Gryffindor seventh year boys looked up. This was the first time they had seen Belle in her uniform, and vice versa. She had pulled away half of her curls, the top ones, with a black ribbon, and she still wore her blazer, even though it was humid outside. She sat down next to Tad.

  "Yeah, they gave us uniforms free of the robes in sixth year. This one girl, that Lily girl I told you about, came out one day wearing her tightest blouse, her shortest skirt, and her tightest knee-highs. But of course, she got away with it because she was on uniform-enforcement patrol." Tad told her. "Have a bit of toast. The pancakes on weekday mornings make you feel like a balloon."

  Belle took some toast and a bagel. As she was spreading the cream cheese all over it, Christopher Morgan poured her some orange juice.

  "Why, thank you, Christopher." She said, still chewing a bit of her bagel.

  "Please, you must call me Chris." He said with a grin. "Everyone does."

   "Did you hear about Severus Snape and Zahn Michaels?" George offered the group. Belle wrinkled her brow.

  "Who are Severus Snape and Zahn Michaels?" She said in an almost perfect British accent.

  "Only the king and queen of the Slytherin house. You do know who the Slytherins are, right?" Ethan asked in a gentle voice that he could have used on a child.

  "Yes, yes.. You were, saying, George?" Belle replied.

  "Oh, well.. Zahn is that blonde girl over there.." He pointed her out.

  "The one who looks like she's got dung under her nose?" Belle interrupted, horrified. The boys laughed.

  "No, that's Narcissa Nott. The girl that is acting like she's the Queen of England is Zahn Michaels." Paul told her kindly.

  "Anyway.." George raised his voice to get back to his story. "They had a huge lovers' spat at the end of sixth year and Snape apologized last night while you and Sirius were in the owlry, and he _proposed_."

  Belle choked on her orange juice. As soon as she had swallowed it properly, her hand flew to the area just beneath her neck. "He **_proposed_**?"

  Everyone looked at her strangely except for Sirius. Why would Isabelle Bernhardt care about a stupid Slytherin?

  "I mean, aren't they a little young?" She smoothed over the little wrinkle in the conversation.

  "Well, yes." Ethan said, pouring her a bit more orange juice. "But it really isn't unexpected. The two have been joined at the hip since January in sixth year."

  "Plus, he proposed to Lily Evans in fifth year, and they actually almost got _married_." Ronan spat.

  "_EWWWWWWWWW_!!! **GROSS**!!!" The Gryffindor seventh year boys chorused.

  "Lily Evans?" Belle wrinkled her nose a bit. James thought it was sort of cute.

  "I've been telling you about her, Belle." Tad said. "Perfectly wonderful girl in our year, looks a bit like you, really."

  _She looks a LOT like her._ James thought.

  "Oh." Belle replied.

   "And do you remember in sixth year when David Morales got onto one knee to try to get her to be his girlfriend?" Remus asked Sirius. The other boys burst out laughing, and Sirius grinned embarrassedly.

  Belle tried to suppress a giggle. "What happened?"

  "Sirius thought he was proposing, and he moved through the crowd, sailed through the air and jumped on him." James answered. Belle began to giggle. He realized he enjoyed making her laugh.

  "Didn't he end up proposing to her anyway?" Logan asked.

   Munguldus laughed. "Yeah, at the Halloween dance later that year, remember?"

  The boys laughed.

   "What happened then?" Belle asked, not being able to touch her toast.

  "She bopped him over the head with her purse twenty-seven times." Patrick told her. The boys began to laugh again.

  "Did it hurt him?" Belle seemed horrified.

  "Perhaps, and they had a huge row right on stage." Peter said. 

   "He was asking her a million questions about why she couldn't marry him, and she snapped back with a cute answer, until finally she shouted that she was washing her hair that day before stomping off." Remus said with a laugh. "Sixth year was incredible."

  "Oh, we better get to class." Belle said, looking at her magical watch. 

  "What does it say?" Tad asked.

  "Almost late for Charms." She replied.

  "Let's go before Flitwick Summons us." James muttered. The Gryffindor seventh years laughed. 

  "Did you enjoy reminiscing about your past as an innocent outsider?" Sirius whispered. They had finished their assignment long ago, and Flitwick not only rewarded them with points, but allowed them to talk quietly. Lily was using her normal voice. They had intentionally seated themselves far away from the rest of the class, which they shared with the Hufflepuffs.

  "It was sort of fun, you know? It's nice, that they still remember me." Lily dipped her head with a sweet smile on her face.

  "Remember you? They can't forget you." Sirius whispered.

  Lily blushed a little. "Shall we go over fifth year at lunch?"

  "Fifth year is a little too painful, for us all. We prefer thinking about sixth year. Nobody died that year." He muttered bitterly.

  "Oh. Right."

  "Did you just forget us?" He asked her, moving his hand over hers.

  "Actually, I pretty much pushed everything about this place out of my mind until the day I left France, when I _had _to think about it. Except for Arabella and Charity. They were always there." Lily admitted. "That's why I brought so much of my memories as my former self. I simply didn't remember."

  "Alright, Belle. I can tell this is painful. Plus, you might want to put your things up. Class is almost over." Sirius turned away. Lily looked to her left and saw that James was staring at her.

  "Yes, Sirius." Lily replied in her Belle-voice.

  "Sirius?" James finally asked. There were three dormitories for the seventh year Gryffindor boys. In this one resided Sirius and James of course, and Remus, who was fast asleep.

  "Yes, James?" He replied, his voice a bit muffled through the curtains.

  "Do you blame me?" James finally expressed what had been nagging him for since New Year's.

  "For what, James?" Sirius sat up, wondering where this was leading to.

  "Well, you know, for making Lily run away for, for, for, well, forever." James sat up, too. 

  Sirius pushed back the curtains. "Why do you think that?"

  "Well.." James sounded reluctant, but then he sighed. "Well, when you finally realized she wasn't coming back, ever, you sort of looked at me like you were disappointed."

  Sirius took a deep breath and a moment of silence. "I was. I was disappointed in you both. Her for running away, you for not chasing after her."

  "Oh." James said. "Well."

  "But I never blamed you for making her run away. She ran on her own terms. That's Lily, I suppose. She's always been running from her problems, either that, or her problems run away for her. Like when you became a problem before third year, you left. No problem anymore. When her parents divorced, she got her letter from Hogwarts and didn't have to hear about any of it until summer. When her mum died, when her dad died.. She went back to Hogwarts. And when you became a problem again, she ran. Except that time, she didn't run back to Hogwarts. She ran from the country." Sirius said quietly, lying back down.

  "What makes you think she left the country?" James asked him, lying back down.

  "She wouldn't let her personal life interfere with her learning. She probably fled the country to go to another school." Sirius half-lied. He _knew_ she went to another school.

  "Do you think owling her would help?" James asked after a moment.

  Sirius sat straight up again. "Why would you want to do _that_?"

  "Oh, Belle said if I missed this person, I didn't explain who she was, so much, I should owl her. Do you think I should?" James intertwined his fingers on his stomach.

  "It's up to you, Prongs. When you make your decision, make it well." Sirius replied exasperatedly. "Go to sleep, Prongs. We have classes in the morning."


	61. Three Hundred And Sixty Four Days

  Belle slipped into a seat next to James in the library. "Hello."

  He looked up from what he had obviously been concentrating on. He sort of scowled at the interruption, but then he smiled. "Oh, hi, Belle."

  "What are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head to read what was on the parchment. He tried to cover it up with his hand, but she saw what was written on it anyway. "Squiggle?"

   James sighed. "You know that girl we were talking about at breakfast yesterday?"

   Belle nodded. "Yeah, Lily Evans. What about her?"

   "You know the girl that I told you about at King's Cross? The one I miss so much?" Belle nodded once again. "Those two girls are one and the same."

  "Oh, James.." Belle murmured. "I'm sorry. You must have gone through horrible heartache."

  In a way, Belle was apologizing for herself and for Lily. But then, she was both of those people.

  "Well, I thought I had gotten over it, you know? I mean, I even became quite the ladies' man around here.. But then.. I just can't forget her, you know? Nobody can forget her." James looked back down on his paper. "And now, I'm trying to tell her that. In a letter."

  "Squiggle?" Belle sort of looked worried. "Yes. That will tell her she's absolutely unforgettable."

  "Yeah, I know." James sounded sad.

  "I could help, you know? I mean, not give you the exact words to say, but trigger a little something in that brilliant mind of yours." Belle gave him a small hug. 

  James sort of grinned at her sadly. "Thanks."

  "Now then, it was obvious you missed her at breakfast yesterday. So tell her about how the conversation came about, and what fun people had remembering her and how much they missed her- How much you miss her.. Tell her about when you think of her, what makes you think of her, what makes you say, 'Well, that would have been something Lily would do, or Lily would say or Lily would buy..' It doesn't have to be in any particular order, James.. Just tell her." Belle gave him another small hug before getting up. "You don't seem like a guy who can't express himself well."

  "The thing is, I'm great at expressing my emotions.." James said, looking off at the floor.

  Belle stooped to meet his gaze. "Then just do it."

  James got a new sheet of paper out and actually pulled out a Muggle pen, with ink of shining robin's egg blue. It was one of his favorite colors and that was why it was his favorite pen.

  _Dear Lily,_

  _God, do you know how long it's taken me to realize this is the first thing I should have done? The only thing I should have done? The hardest thing I've ever done..._

  Two evenings later, Sirius noticed an owl tapping at Lily's window. They had just been discussing something rather interesting.

  "Only call me Lily when you know no one else is around, okay? Otherwise, I'm Belle." She had been saying. "Sirius? Hello? Sirius, are you paying attention?"

  "There's a tapping at the window." Sirius narrowed his eyes and headed over to the window, opening it up to reveal (A/N: Ah-ha!) an owl.

  "What is it, Sirius?" Lily looked up from painting her toenails robin's egg blue. It was one of her favorite colors.

  "A letter." Sirius flopped onto the bed, and Lily screamed at him (but fixed the mess-up in her manicure with a spell). He handed her the letter, and she dried her toenails really quick and flopped onto her back, bending her knees and beginning to read aloud. But after the first word left her lips, she read silently to herself.

  _Dear Lily,_

  _God, do you know how long it's taken me to realize this is the first thing I should have done? The only thing I should have done? The hardest thing I've ever done..._

_ I imagine you're sitting back in a black iron chair, reading this letter with your sunglasses on, sitting outside in the sunshine at a Parisian café, sipping a white mug of coffee (mocha berry, of course) while you laugh at my words. But don't laugh. Even though I am here, in the Hogwarts library, bent over a table and pouring my heart out when I should be doing Charms, I can still feel the pain._

_ Well.. I can only suppose that you are sitting in the sunshine, rather I can only dream you are sitting in the sunshine. You always looked so pretty in natural light—But, that is not the point. I'm happy that we aren't Muggles, else this letter would never find you. As painful as it is to write it, I need to tell you._

_  The point? You'll find it out hopefully by the time I sign my name, or at least, maybe I will. There's a new girl, Belle, in Gryffindor, French.. Resembles you a bit, actually, she resembles you **a lot**. We came to discussing Zahn Michaels and Severus Snape's engagement (yes, Lily.. They ARE engaged. Jealous? I can hear you scowling. I didn't think you were, I just wanted to chuckle at what a suppose is your reaction), and she seemed horrified that people would commit so young in life. And then, the subject turned to Snape's proposal to you. And then, the conversation turned to being completely about you. While I might have contributed a fond memory or two, it only gave me a faraway look in my eyes, and all I thought about was you._

_  Later that very same day, my thoughts through my time with you ended up on that horrible day after Christmas. The day you left us. And, you know, I've always sort of blamed myself for your leaving.. And I suppose it was my fault. I asked Sirius if he considered me the reason you left, and he only shook his head and told me you ran away from your problems and the only thing that I did wrong was not to chase after you._

_  But that is not something that's so simple. I should have chased after you, but I suppose now that if I had, I would have pushed you further away. Am I right?_

_  Well, you've driven me so insane that the only word that I could write down when I decided to write this letter was 'Squiggle'. Think. 'Squiggle'. It does sound sort of funny, doesn't it?_

_  And then Belle came along. And this is exactly how she advised me._

**  Now then, it was obvious you missed her at breakfast yesterday. So tell her about how the conversation came about, and what fun people had remembering her and how much they missed her- How much you miss her.. Tell her about when you think of her, what makes you think of her, what makes you say, 'Well, that would have been something Lily would do, or Lily would say or Lily would buy..' It doesn't have to be in any particular order, James.. Just tell her.**

_ Do you want to tell you how sad Sirius looks nowadays? Well, with Belle here.. Never mind. I miss you. I miss you more than you will ever know. It's been nine god damn months since I've seen you, even more than that. And I can't stand it. _

_ I think about you whenever I turn around. You know why? You were so full of life- I imagine you still are- I spent a total of five years with you, and everything, everything and anything can relate to you now because either it came up in a conversation with you, or we played with it together, or I was looking at something while thinking of you, or the fact that your sense of style has always been all the rage- Elegant and simple and such. And you were so funny. When anybody even attempts to imitate your wit, I think of you. _

_  It's been nine god damn months, Lily. I can't stand it. At all. At least write to me. Tell me what is going on, be the same Lily that I remember and that I long for. Be the same Lily that nobody can forget, most of all, me. Please, please. Let the heartbreak cease, and at least tell me you're happy. I may be miserable thinking that something, or rather, someone, has been the source of your happiness that wasn't me, but I will be happy somewhere, knowing that in some place, Lily is happy._

                                                       Love Forever and Always,

_                                                               Yours Sincerely,_

                                                                  James Potter 

  Lily finished the letter with a sniffle, a gulp, a sob and a sigh. "Why does he have to be so god damn romantic?"

  Sirius grabbed the letter from her hands and began reading it madly. Lily gasped and went to find some paper and a pen. Her favorite, a common, Muggle fountain pen in robin's egg blue.

  While Sirius was reading, his brow wrinkling, Lily was writing a letter of her own.

  The two mornings later, Saturday morning, Sirius was shaken awake by James himself.

  "It's here! It's here!" He shouted, awaking Remus too. He ran out of the room in only his boxers and was shouting, "It's here, it's here!"

  "What's here?" Tad Lowe asked sleepily, as all the residents of Gryffindor tower (excluding McGonagall, who had learned long ago with the Marauders around, sound-proofing the Common Room was the only way to get some sleep. However, the stairs were somewhat part of the Common Room and noise seeped through the cracks between the doors and the floor).

  "A letter from Lily!" James announced, straightening the paper and holding it high over his head.

  "LILY?" Remus grabbed the letter from James, and Belle grabbed it back.

  "YOUR Lily?" She seemed surprised.

  "I followed your advice, Belle, and she replied!" James exclaimed.

  "Well?!?!? Are you going to read it or what?" She demanded. 

  Belle took a gasp at herself. She had been glaring at him demandingly, and then she noticed. He was only wearing a pair of black, silky boxer shorts.. And he looked scrumptious---

   "I don't think she would appreciate it--.." He began, but Sirius interrupted.

  "Oh, come off it, James. We're going to find out, anyway." 

  "Fine, fine."

   _Dear James,_

_  I am glad you decided to write to me, otherwise, I wouldn't have the courage to contact home. Though I cannot promise you that everything in this letter is the honest truth, I can promise you that the emotions you feel are honestly what I meant to put in this letter._

_  Yes, I do miss everyone incredibly. Everyone in France is so haughty, except for a few of the girls in my year, and it figures that she left for England. I believe she is your very own Belle, but she does not know that I am Lily Evans. Ask her about a Lillian Potter. Yes, I can see you smirking confidently in the Common Room, our friends surrounding you. But, you're right. I am running from my problems, and that is simply my code name through my recovery._

_  I particularly miss our closest friends- The Marauders, the Ravenclaw friends.. And, this is horribly hard to write, and though under any other circumstances, I would **never, never**, **never, ever**.. Okay, you get the point. Under any other circumstance,  I will never admit this verbally. I miss you too._

_  Your letter shook me, James. I'll tell you that. I gulped, I cried, I sniffled a bit, and I finally admitted to myself that running wasn't the answer. It won't stop me from running, but maybe, just maybe, I'll come home. But don't get your hopes up now- It'll take me a while to get over it._

_  As I said, I miss you all terribly and it made me so happy to know you all remember me so fondly. And I knew Zahn Michaels couldn't keep her hands off my man!! (I can hear Remus fainting, try a little peppermint under his nose; it makes him sneeze.)_

_  Squiggle, eh? Well, my darling little Squiggle, I hope to make you wait a total of three hundred and sixty three days before you'll see me in my true form again, but until then, we wait. And we write. Tell me of Hogwarts, it might keep me alive under my princess smile._

_So Many Kisses You've Got My Lip Gloss On , It Looks Rather Good, Actually,_

_                                                                     Lily_

  "What's this about a Squiggle?" Remus demanded as he got up (Ronan revived him with the bit of peppermint).

  Belle and James laughed.

  "That's all he could write in his apparently earth-shaking letter." Belle winked at him before turning back around and going upstairs. She shouted over her shoulder. "Nice going, Romeo. You'll have her back by Christmas Eve."

  James was glad she had done the math, because he was too shocked to believe it.


	62. You Know, Lily.. This Is What You Get Fo...

I have completely decided to stop being so completely and utterly insane!

Can you imagine me saying that, Prongs? If you can, that means you still absolutely love me.

  Or didn't you say that already?

  The reason my letter this time doesn't start with a salutation is because I am simply not in the mood to write one. Because I am no longer completely and utterly insane.

  Or something like that.

  The day has been utterly horrible. I opened a supply closet only to find an ex of mine and an enemy of mine falling out of the said closet, while they were making out. Not a pretty picture. Neither of them are that good-looking, mind.

  Lily shuddered before continuing. Honestly, Zahn Michaels and Severus Snape making out. **Gross** 

  You asked me if I was seeing anyone. Well, there is this one boy. He doesn't know I'm seeing him, but I am... Can't you picture me winking?

  Lily recalled how sweaty her palms got whenever she was around the Gryffindor boys- Because of James.

  But he's totally in love with this other girl. Almost exact replica of me, you know? It totally sucks that he loves this girl. I mean, honestly. He floats about the place like an idiot.

  And he thinks he's my best friend in the world, when he makes my palms sweat and I'm constantly wiping my hands on my robes and I'm gulping.. He's driving me bananas, James.

  James was instantly jealous of this fellow.

  Write me soon, James. I might actually be distracted from this god for a moment if one of your wonderful, beautiful letters comes through to me. I float about the place like this god whenever I receive your letters. Write me soon, James.. I cannot survive France without you.

                                                                          Love, Always,

                                                                              Lily

  "What are you writing, James? Another letter to Lillian?" Belle asked, slipping in a seat next to him at breakfast.

  "Her name is Lily." James grunted. "And, yes. Damn girl is in love with somebody."

   Belle spat out her orange juice. "I wouldn't believe it."

  "She said she's seeing someone." James groaned miserably. "But he's in love with another girl."

  Belle smiled coyly. "Not to worry, James, I'm pretty sure Lily isn't in love. She said she was only in love once, and that was the same person she'd be in love with for the rest of her life."

   Belle walked away.

   Dear Lily,

   Damn the fellow who can't see that you're the best thing that will ever happen to him. I can imagine opening a supply closet and finding my ex with her current beau attached at the lips. I did it once to you, remember? David Morales in sixth year? Well, Belle had the unfortunate duty of getting us quills one day and she opened the door and Severus Snape and Zahn Michaels were making it like dogs.

   Lily smiled. They had been talking about the same thing, and he had no idea.

  The day was semi-good. With Belle around, we're able to have a Gryffindor, our year only scrimmage like we did in sixth year when the rest of the house got detentions (when we were conveniently missing, remember?). She's not on the Quidditch team, but it's nice to have fun with the seventh years only.

  I actually made us some points in Charms, when the part-Transfiguration Charm was being used, the Sparkler one.. You know, to make things sparkle. I accidentally turned something into a little sparkler, like the ones on New Year's Eve in first year, and Flitwick mistook it as the actual Charm. Belle was scolding me, though, to make me tell the truth. A lot like you would.

  Do you know what? I told you in the very beginning of fifth year that I knew French. Funny, it escapes me now whenever I try to understand it. I suppose it's different, speaking French for English people as an English person and then speaking it to a real French person, like Belle, and.. I suppose it's because I've always recited phrases, and Belle speaks in fast, fluent French. Funny, Sirius isn't part of the upper class (well, he is, in technicality, his dad is the founder of this Potions ingredients farm, but that's not the point. The point is that he's not required to know French), and yet he and Belle can chat in the best French in the world.

  Lily started laughing her head off and sort of remembered the weird expression on his face whenever 'Belle' spoke to him in French.. A real French person? Belle? Right... Though she had to admit, she had been fooling him thus far with a very French/Bulgarian accent and come to think of it... She kept reading the letter.

  I cannot wait until Christmas Eve, Lils. I would have waited almost a full year before you return to me. My letter is short because I cannot repeat to you over and over, the same thing; I miss you. Life here is like a garden without flowers, a night sky without the stars and moon, like Shakespeare without the mushy love—That is life here without you. That is how I feel without you.

                                                                                       Love, Always,

                                                                                         James

  "Tell me why exactly are we dressing up just to meet this girl?" Leola demanded.

  "Don't ask me. Sirius just said that this girl is a close friend of Lily's, a friend of his own, and she's helped out James a whole bunch." Coco had clearly become the leader of the group. Coco left her long black hair straight over the baby pink dress.

  "And why doesn't Clarisse have to go?" Leola whined.

  "Because, Lee.. She has a date with Remus." Diana snapped, curling her hair with her wand. "Honestly, Lee, you whine about everything."

  "If I had known I could get out of this with a date, I would have gone out with Sean Barnes." Leola whined again.

  "You wouldn't have been able to, Lee.. He's coming too." Jennifer told her exasperatedly. Jennifer's new signature color had become red. She looked amazing in it. "Just get dressed, Lee.."

  "Have you even **noticed** you are the only one in the room who's still in her bathrobe." Mia pointed out. Mia wore a black dress, and she was clearly regretting the decision. "What if I get red hair all over this thing?"

  "Chances are, you will." Leola snapped as she headed over to her wardrobe. "Yellow, again?"

  "It's your best color. Stop sounding so ungrateful." Diana told her confidently over her shoulder, stepping into a Ravenclaw blue dress.

  "I just look like I belong in a Hufflepuff tenth year reunion." Leola whined.

  "Like anyone would mistake you for a Hufflepuff." Mia said with a smile.

  "Thanks guys. I still don't understand why we have to meet this girl. I mean, when is she supposed to be leaving?"

  "The twenty-third of December, I believe." Coco went over to her notebook. "Tad wrote me a note about it during mandatory study hall."

  "It does not make sense to imprison Ravenclaws in the library for study hall with the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs. We study enough already."  Jennifer looked like she was going to freak. "I actually had to witness Snape and Michaels attaching themselves at the lip."

  "At least the Gryffindors were there." Mia said, relieved. "I swear, if we have to watch Zahn Michaels and Severus Snape make out, at least we have Sirius there to make commentary."

  "We could have met this Belle person then, couldn't we? What happened?"

  "You are determined to make this one of the least enjoyable meetings of my life, aren't you, Lee?" Jennifer drawled.

  "Easy. The period that we're supposed to spend in classes like Arithmancy and such are cut from us in seventh year as we have an understandably huge load to go through, especially since this year we have to turn in a heavy research project. Once a week, the Head Boy and Girl have to use this 'study hall' time to go over projects and security and such." Diana explained. "Are we almost ready?"

  "As soon as Leola gets in her tights." Coco muttered. "Continue."

  "There's nothing more to say." Mia commented.

  "Who's going to be Head Girl when Belle leaves?" Jennifer asked.

  "You know, it's odd. The day after Belle leaves, Lily comes back." Coco muttered. "Naturally Lily will be Head Girl, but isn't that suspicious?"

  "Isn't what suspicious?" Leola asked, pulling on her tights.

  "Belle looks almost exactly like Lily. She excels in everything, like Lily. She plays all the Quidditch positions Lily could play." Mia commented.

  "Lily disappears to France.." Diana was catching on.

  "Belle is from France." Jennifer murmured in realization.

  "The day after Belle leaves.." Mia whispered huskily.

  "Is the day Lily comes back! I'm surprised we didn't see it before!" Coco exclaimed. "And we're supposed to be her best friends!"

  "Do you think Sirius knows?" Diana asked.

  "What do you want to know about Sirius?" Sean and Nick came in, Sean was the one who spoke. 

  Leola put her shoes on. "Never you mind.. Shall we go?"

  Nick laughed and Sean put a sheepish smile on his face. "Yeah, Lee.. Let's roll."

  "What if they don't like me, Ronan?" Belle was pacing about the place. James was nowhere to be found.

  "Of course they'll like you." Ronan was becoming used to this.

  "And what if they make fun of my dress?" Belle was becoming very anxious.

  "They'll love your dress." Sirius replied.

  "And what if they don't like my hair or the way I eat or what if they think I've.." Belle trailed off and sat down in the nearest chair.

  "What is your problem?" Munguldus snapped. He, too, was nervous. He seemed to strike a nerve. She stood up in a huff, crossing her arms.

  "Why don't you use your god damn powers and figure it out?" Belle shouted at him in a perfect London accent. She clamped a hand over her mouth. She had snapped. In two.

  "L-l-l-l-lily?" Ronan stuttered.

  "Yes, yes, you can't tell James, you can't tell anyone.." Lily had complete nervous breakdown in front of their eyes.

  Sirius shrugged.

  "Sirius Aries Black- If you ever make one of my hugest insecurities a simple move of your shoulders, I bend you to look like Severus Snape's lips when intertwined with Zahn Michaels's, in that **exact** same size!!!" She snapped at him. "Oh god.. I've snapped. I've lost it.. I'm positively cuckoo!" She sat down in a chair again.

  Sirius, Ronan and Munguldus stared at their old friend.

  Remus walked in with Clarisse. "Oh, Belle, Ronan.. Mung, Sirius- James isn't coming down tonight."

  "Oh, bloody hell." Lily snapped. "My name isn't Belle, you dimwit. I am Lily fucking Evans, for god's sakes."

  "You are?" Nick exclaimed. The Ravenclaws had followed Remus and Clarisse in.

  "She is?" Sean looked to Mia, Jennifer, Coco, Leola, and Diana. Lily, Mia, Jennifer, Coco, Leola, Diana and Sirius nodded weakly.

  "Oh god, I'm need a therapist." Lily muttered before banging her head against the table. "I sincerely need a therapist. Do you think I need a therapist? I need a therapist.. I. Want. My. Mummy."

  And she proceeded to bang her head against the table.

  "You know, Lily, this is what you get for having a split personality." Munguldus muttered.

  Sirius and Ronan, who had been standing on either side of Munguldus, both slapped him on the side of his head.

  "Well. This has been one interesting evening." Nick said finally.

  "Oh, shut up." Lily muttered.


	63. Pathetic, James. Absolutely Pathetic

  "The whole three hundred sixty four thing doesn't make sense Lils." 
    
    Coco told her. They were shopping in Hogsmeade, arm in arm. It was the first day of November. The secret had been out to almost all the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.
    
      "It's been three hundred and sixty four days since I've last seen him 
    
    as, well, me." Lily responded exasperated. "I left on the day after 
    
    Christmas. To make it an entire year, we would wait three hundred and sixty five. Oh, crap. I can't come home until Christmas.
    
    Coco laughed. "Well, it should take you twenty four hours to complete 
    
    rearrange yourself, shouldn't it?"
    
    Lily sighed. "Yes, I suppose, but that means I actually have to go home 
    
    for Christmas."
    
      "It's not like you don't have a servant to pack your bags." Coco 
    
    reminded her.
    
      "But now François has to owl Dumbledore, saying I'll be coming on 
    
    Christmas." Lily told her in response.
    
      "Have you noticed all your troubles are going to your servants, Lily?" Coco asked her teasingly.
    
      "So I am the bitchy little princess James originally perceived me to 
    
    be?" Lily had satisfied smile on her face.
    
      Coco's voice dropped. "So, are you going to tell him?"
    
      "Tell him what?" Lily knew what she was talking about. And Coco knew she knew. Lily responded to her "No."
    
      "Why the hell not? You have nothing to lose!" Coco told her.
    
      "That's the problem, Coco, I have everything to lose, everything."
    
      Coco was silent on their walk back to the castle.
    
      "So I need to shop for her gift."
    
      Belle arched an eyebrow. "And you're telling me this.. Because…?"
    
      James sighed. "Isn't it obvious? I can't ask her what she wants for 
    
    Christmas, never have. But she can't show up on Christmas Eve and not 
    
    have a present from me the next day."
    
      "She's not coming on Christmas Eve, She's coming on Christmas day. She, uh, owled me."
    
      James frowned. "Why wouldn't she owl me?" Belle was silent. "Anyway, I have no idea what to get her."
    
      "Fine. We'll go shopping. But James, its only November. Quidditch 
    
    season started yesterday. Exams are going to start soon. Why worry about a gift now?"
    
      James sighed again. "Don't you get it? It's November. Meaning I only 
    
    have thirty something days to find the perfect gift!"
    
      Belle shook her head sadly. You are pitiful, you know that?"
    
      "Lily..." He murmured dreamily.
    
      Belle rolled her eyes.
    
      Dear James,
    
      I'm sorry to say that I will not be coming on Christmas Eve, for 
    
    Christmas hols at Beauxbatons don't let out until December 23rd, just like Hogwarts. I thought they let out on the 22nd, and that would have given me plenty of time to unpack and repack. But no, I can't return until Christmas Day. 
    
     Don't obsess over a Christmas gift for me, I am sure just your presence will make this Christmas perfect. My blush deepens as I think of the message your letters convey- It is fantastic to have someone feel for you in the way that you do for me. You write so beautifully. My secret crush has yet to realize that I am sitting right beneath his nose. He obsesses over a gift for his love for Christmas, and I guess it doesn't pain me as much as it worries me. 
    
      I can only count the days until we are reunited as we remember each 
    
    other- Perhaps you have seen different forms of me, for I have seen a very different form of you, and I hope that you are only as I dreamed. You were almost perfect last year, and this year, I hope you to be more mature. More nurturing. I already receive that vibe when you write to me. I only hope my instincts are right.
    
                                        Love,
    
                                        Lily

A/N: Sorry it was so short.. But I promise you, there's more to come! Thanks to my beta reader, Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune, and yes, bourne, we all need a Jordan.. ::licks lips:: Yummy.


	64. The Locket

A/N: Two things. The chapter's short, but there is an end result. I'll pull a JK (to whom we totally dedicate this fic to) and tell you that if I push the long chapters, the end result will suck. Second thing, my beta Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune is writing the prequel to this fic.. It's really cool and she knows all the details, don't doubt it. Enjoy the fic, and read Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune's prequel!   
  
  "It's perfect. Let's go." Belle demanded.   
  "It's horrible and smoky purple. I need something like the other gifts I gave her, but better." James told her.   
  "I have the Shopping Nazi for a shopping buddy, you know that?" She replied impatiently, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. They stood outside a variety of shops on the wooden sidewalk (this week's Hogsmeade theme was Merlin's Beach Boardwalk).   
  "What have you given her, anyway?"   
  "Dresses, necklaces, velvet-covered books, floaty bubble things.. And this locket. I've seen her wear, but she doesn't know it belongs to me." James absentmindedly muttered.   
  "There's no point in you being here, it's just wasting your time. Point me to the best shops in town and enjoy a butterbeer or something." 

  Belle paused. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"   
  "Heavens, no, I just know what I need. Have fun." He was so distracted he didn't even notice the look on Belle's face- half torn between confusion and satisfaction.   
   
  Lily rushed away to a dark alley and pulled out her wand. "Lumos." She muttered. The light shone right onto her chest. She used her unused hand to pull out the locket that had been safely tucked into her blouse for three years. She had never been able to open it, even with her magical skills. It seemed to have some sort of curse on it. The locket! She had been wearing the locket through everything. Falling in love with James and falling out of love with him and falling into love- That was it! She removed the locket as soon as she could, unlit her wand, and clutched the locket in her hand tightly.   
  
  "Figure this out." Lily threw the locket at Coco, the History of Magic expert.    
  "Nice, really. Gryffindor, naturally."   
  "Tell me something I don't know, will you?" Lily demanded impatiently.   
  "Where did you get it?" She asked, standing up. Rosmerta's followed the Hogsmeade theme of the week. And outside, instead of dirt roads, they had sand roads.   
  "It was lying around Gryffindor tower. Three years ago. I tried selling it in a fundraiser, but it's like they couldn't even see it on the table. I've been wearing it ever since." Lily explained quickly.   
  "And you are bringing this to me because…?" Coco inspected it. "It won't open."   
  "Precisely. I think it's cursed." Lily told her.   
  "We have to take it to the jewelry store. They'd know more than I do." She replied. 

  Lily groaned. "Fine, fine."   
  


  "How exactly did this piece come to you, Ms. Bernhardt?" The man asked over the table.   
  "Why?" She demanded impatiently, but then figured her cover would be blown. "I just found it at a flea market."   
  "Well, it's been missing from the Royal Gryffindor Jewelry Treasury for centuries." He replied. "It has a curse on it."   
  "I knew it!" Belle exclaimed.   
  He looked puzzled. "The curse is for the one who's destined to be the heir's bride. They've been quite frantic to find it. Usually only the one who is destined to marry the heir can see it, but seeing as the curse is quite old."   
  "Excuse me?" Coco asked.   
  "Well, it is kind of good that it's been missing. They don't want the heir to get married this time. It would kill him."   
  "You've lost me." Belle told him flatly.   
  "I really ought not to tell you, you are close to the heir, you realize""   
  Belle realized what Coco couldn't.   
  "Well, I plan on sending it back. How might I do that?" She demanded.   
  "First, I will write to the Queen herself and tell her that it's been found. And you can send it back via owl." The man replied. "My owls will know how to find you to contact you."   
  "Thank you, sir." Belle clasped the locket tightly and swept out of the store.   
  
  "I'm looking for Belle, Clarisse. Where might I find her?" James asked Clarisse, who was standing in front of the ice cream shop wistfully.   
  "Oh, I believe she and Coco went back to the castle, James." Clarisse muttered. "If you see Remus, do tell him that I am waiting."   
  "That I will, Clarisse." He replied. "Castle?"   
  
  "What is going on, Lily?" Coco asked.   
  "The heir of Gryffindor?" She replied, raising her eyebrows. Coco shook her head confusedly.   
  "That's James." Lily said simply.   
  Coco gasped and nearly fainted.   
  "And according to some dumb curse, I am supposed to marry him. This is so complicated." Lily muttered, sitting down on the wooden sidewalk.   
  "Well, everyone knew that." Coco said, rolling her eyes.   
  "Knew what?" Lily demanded.   
  "That you were going to marry him. After the entire story got out, we were only betting on how long it would take you to realize that. Guess magic does have its perks."   
  "Who said I was going to marry James" I mean he's--."   
  James headed over to the ice cream shop across the street and began talking to Clarisse.   
  "Handsome."   
  "Shut up, Coco."   
  "Athletic."   
  "Coco!"   
  "Tan."   
  "I am not hearing this!"   
  "Intelligent."   
  "Coco Chen!"   
  "Kind."   
  Lily gave in. "Sweet."   
  "Rich."   
  "That is not one of his qualities."   
  "Caring."   
  "What a hunk-a-hunk-a-burnin" love." Lily said with a sigh.  "Damn you, Coco!  Now I do have to marry him!"   
  "You would have done it anyway, Lils." Coco replied simply.   
  
  "They're not in there, Sean?" James asked.   
  "I swear. The last time I saw them was yesterday." Sean Barnes replied, as he and Nick continued to toss the Quaffle back and forth.   
  "Thanks. I'll look for them in the tower." James replied.   
  "What's with the package, or is it a holiday secret"" (A/N: A line from the play I was just in!) Nick asked.   
  "Holiday secret." James replied with a grin. (A/N: Not a line from the play I was just in.)   
  "For Lily?" Sean asked.   
  "Yeah." James said wistfully. "Got to find Belle."   
  "Off to the Ravenclaw Common Room, 'cause it's the best!" Lily sang as she and Coco headed over to the Common Room.   
  "Oh there you are! James has been looking for you." Sean said as he saw the two girls slide down the rope ladder.   
  "He has? I wonder why." Lily murmured in confusion.   
  "Well, he's heading for the tower." Nick said. "Plan on catching up with him?"   
  "Nah, it probably isn't important." Lily told him. "I've been on my feet all day. Let me get some rest."   
  
  James looked around the Common Room and saw that they weren't there. So he headed up to Belle's dormitory. Her private sanctuary. Funny, while he knew almost all of his friends went up there, he had never done so himself. He headed up the stairs and opened the door.   
  


  "What's going to happen if James discovers we're not in the Common Room, Lils?" Coco asked.   
  "Then he'll go up to my, oh my goodness!" Lily exclaimed, getting up very quickly. "I have to go."   
  "Why?" Nick asked. Sean slapped him upside the head.   
  "Are you that stupid? Her dormitory, you idiot! Where she keeps all of her stuff. Emphasis on ALL." Sean told him.   
  
  James noticed that there were two boxes sitting underneath the window with notes on top of them.   
  
Lily-   
  I just cannot find room for these in your bedroom. Simply because of everything that is in there because of the remodeling. You will be stopping at home before you returning to Hogwarts, correct" My English is improving, is it not?   
  
Cherie   
  
  James thought that maybe her aunt called her Lily, but at the train station, both of her guardians had called her Isabelle. On the floor next to the boxes were letters. Written in robin eggs blue ink and a familiar handwriting. 

  "Dear Lily.." He murmured. He speedily ripped open the boxes. There were things that were familiar.   
  Sketches of Munguldus's in sleek white frames, yearbooks, several of the birthday gifts he had given Lily- And a photo frame of them on the gazebo steps three years ago. And Belle opened the door, her breath ragged and the look on her face that could only be labeled as shock.   
  
B/N: lol Beta's note B/N!!! Anyway this is Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune and I just wanted to remind you all to r/r my prequel. Also I have been given explicit instructions by Mandy and I know this fic better than almost anyone other than Mandy herself so don't worry about details. Chapter 1 though I warn you isn't much mine at all, almost all the dialogue is from chapter 3 of this fic. E-mail me at isabelle_belle_2002@yahoo.fr or IM me at klikittyklak (AIM) if you want anything. TTFN, -Isabelle


	65. In Which Lily Decides To.. Well, You Hav...

A/N & Disclaimer: I know, I kind of settled the whole disclaimer crap, but here, my beta did a great job (A/N WITHIN AN A/N: Hi, Belle!) and she's doing a great job on the prequel... Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune!

  Lily gasped and her eyes widened. There was James, fumbling through her papers calmly, as if he had immediately expected this. As if.. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room, her eyes filling with tears.   
  "Hello, Lily." He sort of murmured, meeting her eyes that looked like she was going to cry. "Go ahead, Lily. Explain. I'm ready."   
  "Well, it all began when I was running away from Sirius's house." She took a deep breath. "What are you doing here""   
  "I was looking for Belle. I guess I found her." James ran his hand through his hair quickly, moving the hand to his neck to massage it nervously. "Continue."   
  "I was sitting on a iron bench, all alone and my face stick with tears. And I looked up and saw a pin-up of the Eiffel Tower. So I went to France. That's it." Lily's cold demeanor had returned and she was the high society's queen in a matter of seconds.   
  "Is that it, Lily?" James muttered in a low, dangerous voice. "Nothing about coming back as a totally different person and fooling everybody for months?"   
  "Not everybody, exactly." She whispered, looking down on the floor. "The others know."   
  "Are you telling me that you deceived me? What on earth compelled you to do that?" He roared. "What makes you so special?"   
  "How dare you?! You would hardly know what I felt and you hardly have the right to criticize me!" Lily shrieked in reply.   
  "I do think I gained that right when you pulled the silk over my eyes and led me to believe you were in France." James spat.   
  "I _was_ in France!" The tears were flowing now.   
  "You don't get it, do you?" He looked bitterly at the floor and then looked back up.   
  "No. YOU don't get it. Do you know how long I cried over you?" Lily spat in response.   
  "Probably as if your favorite pet swan had died." James muttered coldly.   
  "No, I cried every night for a month. When I stopped crying, I stopped remembering. I stopped remembering the heartbreak, the good times, and it wasn't until my last day in France that I realized that coming back to Hogwarts would mean coming back to you. The identity was never meant to deceive anyone, it was just a defense mechanism." Lily said flatly.   
  "Oh, really?" James crossed his arms, not believing a word.   
  "You know, I cried that I was away from home, away from Hogwarts, away from my friends and everything I was used to, but the thing I cried about the most is that you didn't come after me." Lily said, choking back a sob. "Are you such a huge hot-shot now?"   
  "No. But you, you're a trophy. Kudos to the man that actually captures your attention." James muttered. "You've made a fool of me."   
  Lily wanted to tell him he should congratulate himself, but she was too angry. "I am not a conquest, James!"   
  "And neither am I!" He shouted.   
  
  "I am not a conquest, James!" The voices flew down the stairs and the accent was in perfect English.   
  The Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws looked at each other worriedly.   
  "And neither am I!"   
  

  "You know what the worst part is about your deception, Lily?" James spat.   
  "What?" Lily was crying, she was both sad and angry at the same time.   
  "That it worked. Merry Christmas." He thrust a wrapped package into her hands and left the room quickly. Lily made it towards the bed and broke into tears.   
  
  "You!" James spat as soon as he saw Sirius. "You are supposed to be my best friend. All of you are supposed to be my friends. My friends wouldn't lie. My friends wouldn't let me write these letters and, urgh! She was probably laughing every time she received a letter. "Oh, look, there's pitiful little James again, pouring his heart out!" Well, you know what? I did pour my heart out and only to be publicly ridiculed!"   
  There was a slamming of a window that made everybody look up.   
  "Oh, God. She's going to run." Sirius muttered, darting up the stairs. James and the others followed in pursuit.   
   
  "The room is empty. Entirely empty." Coco said. The dresser was no longer white, neither was the bed. In fact, it looked like a fairly normal dormitory. With five beds. She ran her fingers over the sash of the window. The window was making clapping noises in the wind.   
  "What's that?" Munguldus asked.   
  Remus walked over to where he was pointing. A piece of fluttering parchment could barely restrain itself.   
  
Dear Sirius-   
  I do not know if I shall be returning to Hogwarts, but I am pretty sure I will. Send my apologies to all I've hurt, and I will be back on Christmas. Send my love to everyone, and I will catch up with my work at home.   
Sorry the letter is so short, but I had to leave quickly.   
Love Forever and Always,   
Lily   
  
  "James, you know when you asked me a couple of months ago whether I blamed you for chasing Lily away?" Sirius asked after hearing Remus read the letter.   
  "Yes." James spat.   
  "At that time I didn't blame you. Eh, maybe you could have gone after her, but for all we know she would have refused to come back. But now, I blame you. And if you don't go after her, you can consider our lies even. Mine were public and yours are still on the cruise line down denial." Sirius said wisely. "Well, what are we waiting for? There's homework to be done, Quidditch practices to attend."   
  The occupants of the room grumbled and slowly filed out. All except for James. He went over to the window and looked out of it for a moment, then closing it quietly. "I guess you're calling it even, Lils. I guess you're calling it even." He whispered.


	66. The Dream

**_  "You think it's funny, do you" I know that you do, Peter. All the Death Eaters do. How would you like it if your son defeated the Dark Lord and nobody knew you were alive" My boy is thirteen, now. I am a fallen princess of Gryffindor, Peter. You supposedly destroyed me. Now I am a wreck. It wasn't enough for you to kill me once, was it Peter? It wasn't enough to kill my husband, to take away my child, destroy anything that could be memories of us?"   
  The wretched woman, she could not have been more than thirty-five, was talking to a balding blonde man. Her hair showed signs of being a lustrous red, had now faded to a limp pale orange. Her eyes looked like they had once shone like emeralds, and now they seemed like they were the sea after ships had turned their oils over.   
  The man closed his eyes and pointed at the woman, who sat tied to a chair that was about to give way.   
  "I'm so sorry, James, but I have to do this." The man muttered.   
  "You're apologizing to James? It's a little late now!" The woman shouted.    
  "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.." The man continued.   
  "Furthermore, I am the one you are killing!" She shrieked.   
  "Wormtail, shut her up!" Someone hissed, quite literally.   
  Wormtail muttered something and there was a flash of green light. _****  
**  
  Lily woke up in a tumble of sheets and she was sweating, even though it was Christmas Eve. It was a horrible, horrible dream. And she was sure that the woman was her.   
  Christmas morning was not easy to go through. If Lily had been a smoker, now would have been the most excellent time for someone to open a cigarette stand in front of her house. Her trunk was normal, for once, and honestly, she looked like an average pretty face attending Hogwarts. The gift sat on her night-stand unopened and the wrapping paper (she suspected that it had been Charmed) was a dull, cloudy gray, that still had a certain sheen to it. It reminded her about how she felt at that particular moment.   
  "The Mademoiselle is reminded that the car is ready." François called up the stairs.   
  "Coming." She whispered softly.   
  The gift would have to stay there. She couldn't bear coming back to her dormitory every evening to find it sitting there, ridiculing her. She picked up a leather briefcase that had been sitting by the door and she proceeded to leave her room and go down the stairs. She was going home.   
  
  There was quite a stir among the students who had stayed at Hogwarts. The controversial, the grand, the epitome of perfection, the Lily Evans was returning.   
  The Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins were still scratching their heads about where she might have gone. The Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws were still scratching their heads about why she might have come back.   
  Her closest friends, the Ravenclaw girls and of course, two of the Marauders, were still going to be by her side. But Lily Evans knew that even before she "returned" the first time, that because they were close friends with James, things would be uneasy. So she'd have to go to the ways she had learned as a first and second year. Except for the fact that she was the star ornament on the Hogwarts" Christmas tree of a social chart. As a result, Sirius was only one who awaited her arrival at the platform.   
  


  Lily twisted her wand in both of her hands over and over. She had to face it. She was nervous. And she knew that only one person would be waiting for her.   
  "Missed you much." Sirius whispered into her hair. They were in tight embrace and suddenly, a gush of wind hit them.   
  "That would be the spirit of my mother." Lily said breathily, wiping a tear away. "Get your hands of my little girl!"   
  Sirius and Lily laughed bitterly, both of their smiles not reaching their eyes.    
  "It's going to be a tough year, eh?" He asked her, taking her trunk.   
  "Yes. It will be." Lily whispered, trotting to catch up with him.   
  "I meant academically." He added.   
  "That too."   
  
  "Well, you're all unpacked." Sirius said finally. "Time for Christmas dinner."   
  "Oh, well, I suppose it is." Lily whispered.   
  "You're acting like a bird of the wild, kept in a cage, or a rose kept under a glass case. No offense, but its just James." Sirius told her, holding her by her forearms and trying to talk some sense into her. She refused to meet his worried gaze.   
  "I suppose you're right." Lily muttered.   
  "Something's in the back of your mind, Lils. If you don't want to tell me right now, I understand. But I am your best friend. You have to tell me eventually." Sirius looked at her worriedly.   
  "You're all I have left of Jackie. I can't lose you, too."   
  Lily looked up, her eyes full of tears. "You think I'm like Jackie?"   
  Sirius nodded. Lily hugged him with a full force, tears streaming down her face. "Only we will know the loss of that year."   
  "Shh, shh. I know." He whispered into her hair again. "We will survive. But in order to do that, we must eat."   
  Lily laughed softly, her smile again not reaching her eyes. "We can go."   
  "You sure?" Sirius asked worriedly.   
  "Yeah."   
  
  James looked up and kind of smiled. There she was, pretending to be brave. She looked considerably happy, but she had red eyes. Sirius must have talked to her. She seemed smaller than usual. Perhaps paler. This he noticed as she slipped into a chair next to Sirius.   
  He would have been sure that if she hadn't sworn she would never love Sirius beyond a brother, that the two of them probably had been making out.   
  She looked at her plate sadly and just sat there for a couple of minutes in silence, much like the rest of the table. Except the rest of the table was eating.   
  "Eat, Lils. It's Christmas." Sirius hissed. She halfheartedly picked up her fork and began to eat. 

She sighed. "I can't go on with this charade much longer, Sirius."   
  "I realize that, but if you don't eat--."   
  "You are not my father, Sirius!"   
  "You need someone right now!"   
  By now, the entire hall was silent and staring at Sirius and Lily argue, and they seemed totally oblivious to it.   
  "I'm leaving!" Lily stood up, threw her napkin onto her half-empty plate. She rushed out of the hall crying.   
  "Running again, Princess?" James knew he shouldn't have said it, especially when she whirled around. He had never been so afraid in his life.   
  She just sort of glared at him with pure hate in her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked out of the hall again.   
  Sirius glared at him, standing up and throwing his napkin at him. "You just can't shut up, can you?"   
  And he went running after Lily.   
  "Don't even try, Sirius." Coco said, as she rushed to his side. She put a delicate hand on his shoulder. "You'll only make it worse."   
  Sirius sighed and took Coco's hand in one of his, letting both of their arms fall limply to their sides. "I suppose you're right."   
  
  James got his punishment, however. That evening, his Aunt Godrica sent him something.   
**_Dearest Nephew, _****_  
  Someone has finally found the locket. I hate to tell you, but here it is. It can only be seen by the_**(At this point, there were tear drops on the page.)_ **Here you are.** __  
** Love, ****  
Aunt Godrica   
**_  
  In his hand, he clutched the locket that he had thought Lily had no idea about. And James had to run and find a place to do something he hadn't done since his own father's death years ago. As soon as he got to the locker room of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, he found a bench that he and Lily had actually been sitting at just two years ago. He bent over it and he cried.   
  
B/N: Why isn't anyone reading my prequel? -Belle (Le Chat Qui Garde La Lune)


	67. In Which Life Is, Er, Boring

  
Disclaimer: The little tid-bit of a song is Sirius's creating, and that's all that's different.   
  
  Sirius sat in his chair, bouncing a ball against the bricks above the fireplace. His best friend number one was a moron and his best friend number two was a sappy freak of a chick. Okay, so he was being a bit harsh. After all, both of his friends seemed extremely hard to get over, romantically. And it was midnight. Of course, he couldn't sleep in his dormitory with the moron, so he came down to the Common Room, sitting in a chair directly facing the fireplace. He heard a stirring and his head snapped toward the direction of the sound.   
  "God, Lily, you look like an angel." Sirius murmured as she stepped into the light. She was wearing those silk pajamas she had on James's first day back two years ago.   
  "Thank you." Lily whispered meekly. Her hair was spread onto her shoulders and with the dim light of the fire, Sirius's words were not lies. "I'm ready to talk now."   
  "And I'm ready to listen." Sirius replied. "Sit, Lils."   
  Lily walked over to a sofa, sitting down and scooping up her feet.   
  "Everyone that I love dies, Sirius. Or suffers a horrible, horrible fate."   
  "If you're talking about Remus, he was like that before you even-."   
  Lily put up her hand. "You said you would listen. Talking was not part of the deal. Everyone I love dies or suffers a horrible, horrible fate. And it makes me unable to love. Or unable to be loved." She was slow in speaking her words, but the message was stringing together. 

  "It is as if- As if, I don't know. I suppose James has the same ability to block people off as I do, and he is unable to feel, but it gives me no comfort." Lily wiped away a tear delicately.   
  "Now, see here, Lily. James is not unable to love! He can feel just as much as you do." Sirius told her sternly.   
  "All right, I'll give you that one. But, Sirius, I make no promises. I cannot love. I cannot feel. I am very alone, and that I will remain. Please tell your friend I am sorry. But Sirius, you are the only male I will ever love, and it is only because you are the only family I've ever had." Lily got up softly, kissed his cheek, and went to bed.   
  "Damn." Sirius muttered loudly.   
  
  Laughter, the laughter. Her laughter. It all floated through the corridors, and James and his huge entourage seemed to follow it only because it was near their next class. James brushed shoulders with somebody and he looked at the person to apologize. Lily locked eyes with him for a moment.   
  The noise and chatter stopped. The two headstrong Gryffindors just gazed intensely at each other for what seemed like hours, to both them and the people around them.   
_'He can't possibly understand- Ever.' __  
'She'll never know, will she?'   
_  
  "Sorry." He muttered.   
  "Yeah, sorry." Lily replied, and the both of them went on their way.   
  James overheard a bit of her conversation as the silence slowly stopped.   
  "He's not over you, yet, is he, Lily?"  
  "I wouldn't know, Ro. James is someone who keeps his feelings to himself. That's something I learned the hard way."  
  "What about you, Lily? Over him yet?" And then suddenly laughter, the laughter, her laughter began floating through the corridors like something so infectious that he couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.   
  
  "He met Marmalade, down in old Moulin Rouge--." Lily sang at the top of her lungs, singing the Patti LaBelle hit with the full force of fun. Her Hufflepuff friends joined in, and in no time, they were on the top of the tables in the library, singing at the top of their voices. Lily was goofing off, remembering part of a routine to 'Night Fever' that Arabella had choreographed for her, and everyone was laughing. Oddly enough, Madam Pince didn't show up once.   
  The Gryffindors boys had a free period, and for once, they wanted to spend it in the library. They followed noise. And they were very surprised to see that Lily Evans and her friends were dancing on tables to some music coming from nowhere. Especially since it was Lily Evans. James's jaw dropped. Over him? Well, that question seemed answered.   
  
  "There's this totally jamming concert at the Three Broomsticks. Top secret, though." Lily whispered to her friends as they snuck away, giggling. "Guess who it is?"   
  "Who?" Bertha Jorkins asked excitedly.   
  "A band called 'King'." Lily whispered. "I've got friends in the band."   
  "You're so cool, Lily!" They chorused. Lily tried to keep from giggling.   
  
  "I did not know they could sing." Coco shouted to Clarisse. "Look who's here."   
  They all looked to see Lily walk through door, already becoming the club's queen just by walking. She was wearing a very boyish outfit, considering her normal style. But it was form-fitting, sparkly and she rocked it.   
  "Hi, Coco!" She chirped over the music. "I love this song."   
  
You are like the wind   
You don't sit still   
And then you tell me   
You don't feel   
Anything   
Anything at all   
Then what is with you?   
What is with you'   
  
  "The album's called, 'Seymour, I Thought That Evil Witch Had Killed You', and it's flying into stores January 26th." Sirius said into the microphone. "As for us, we've got a special friend singing a special song."   
  Lily froze. And immediately started shaking her head madly. "No, Sirius, no!" Lily said, stomping her foot.   
  "Come on, Lily darlingest." Munguldus muttered, beginning the first notes of 'Fernando'.   
  "Can you hear the drums, Fernando?" Lily whispered, taking a beat before she got on stage. 

  "There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, they were shining there for you and me, Fernando. They were shining there for you and me, for liberty, Fernando. Though we never thought that we could lose, there's no regrets, if I had to do the same again, I would, my friend, Fernando."  Lily crooned in her strong, beautiful, but untrained voice. The boys of King couldn't help but laugh. Munguldus was on the keys, James was on bass, Sirius was on guitar, and Remus was on the drums.   
  Lily couldn't help but laugh. The entire bar was singing along, too. Her eyes lit up and she smiled without pain, without hurt, and it was the first time in many months that she felt completely and utterly genuine.


	68. In Which Lily And James Act Like Two Yea...

  
A/N: There's a little language in here that might be considered inappropriate. Just scroll to the bottom once it starts and you might get it. But that way's no fun.

  
  This was life for the next few months. James and Lily rarely spoke to one another. Sirius had counted, and they had said a total of sixteen words.   
  


"Please pass the toast."   
"Please pass the marmalade."  
"Please pass the cornflakes."   
"Thank you."   
"You're welcome."   
  
  They were civil. They did not play pranks on one another, and they shared all of the same friends. Sirius recalled those months as the most boring months he had ever spent at Hogwarts. They weren't fighting. They weren't kissing. They were boring.   
  "Ms. Evans?" Professor McGonagall startled Lily, who looked up from her History of Magic paper. 

  "Professor Dumbledore requires your presence in his office."   
  "I don't know the way, ma'am." Lily said timidly, standing up and collecting her books.   
  "James, you show her. I know you know the way." Professor McGonagall motioned to James, who wasn't sitting too far away.   
  "Professor Dumbledore needs you anyway."   
  Lily scowled. She had played the elusive game of keep away for the past four months, and now Professor McGonagall was just ruining it. At least the day before had been April first. That way he did not have any excuse to turn her into a wreck.   
  James scowled. He had been playing the elusive game of keep away for the past four months, and now Professor McGonagall was just ruining it. At least the day before had been April first. That way she did not have any excuse to screw him up. 

  
  "So."   
  "So."   
  "How's the whole, um, Seymour situation going?" James asked.   
  
  "He's fine. I couldn't take him to France, else they'd turn him into duck a la ronge." Lily murmured, sort of skipping. She wasn't wearing her blazer like she should have been, and her robes were left forgotten in the library.   
  "Hmm."  
  "Hmm."   
  "Yeah."   
  "So, how's the whole, um, Quidditch thing going?" Lily asked.   
   "If you went to the games, you'd know. If you were still our manager, you'd know. If you still played, you'd know." James tried not to raise his voice.   
  
  Lily rolled her eyes. "As if you need me, Mister Star Seeker. You seem to have the entire thing under control."   
  "Things aren't as they seem, milady." James chirped.   
  "URGH! You are so annoying." Lily muttered.   
  "Yes, Princess. I am, Princess. Does Your Royal Highness have any other opinions to pass of me? Or does the Princess prefer to keep her royal mouth shut for once?"  
  Lily was so sick of this. She turned to him and slapped him right on the cheek.   
  


  "Mr. Potter, what is that nasty red swelling on your cheek?" Professor Dumbledore wrinkled his nose.   
  "Ran into an evil little- Doorway." James muttered.   
  "Do sit down. We're going to have a nice little discussion. Then we can send you off to the hospital wing." Professor Dumbledore motioned to the two seats in front of his desk. "I understand your graduation is coming up."   
  "Yes, sir." The two chorused, and then they glared at one another.   
  "And seeing as it's one of the largest years ever, and some of our most prominent students are leaving, you two need to plan one of the greatest ceremonies ever, and one of the greatest parties of all time." Professor Dumbledore said. "Normally I would have the staff plan the graduation, but you two have had such successful parties, such as the Halloween Ball of last year, and that birthday bash of Ms. Evans's--."   
  "You mean we would have to plan this shindig?" Lily asked wearily.   
  "Together?" James demanded with shock.   
  "Yes, isn't that obvious?" Professor Dumbledore asked confusedly.   
  "Together?" James demanded again.   
  "Didn't he just answer your question, you dumb ass?" Lily snapped.   
  "Now, Ms. Evans, that's not completely fair--."   
  "Who are _you_ calling a dumb ass?" James retorted.   
  "Now, Mr. Potter, I'm sure you don't mean that."   
  "You, you dumb ass."   
  "Ms. Evans!"   
  "Bitch!"   
  "Mister Potter!"   
  "Bastard!"   
  "Gold digger!"   
  "Asshole!"   
  "Takes one to know one." Lily slapped him. He slapped her back.   
  "Mr. Evans, Ms. Potter! I mean, Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans!"   
  "You, you, you, FLOBBERWORM!!!"   
  And at that moment, they just launched one huge argument. Dumbledore banged his head on his desk.   
  "Well, at least they're fighting again."  
  
  "Dumb ass!"   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  "You, you dumb ass!"  
  "Bitch!"   
  "Bastard!"   
  "Gold digger!"   
  "Asshole!"  
  "Takes one to know one!"   
  "You wanna take this outside, Potter?"  
  "I could take you on, any day, any time."   
  Sirius looked up from his Potions essay, as did everyone else. The professor had opened the door to let out the chill, and walking past the dungeons were James and Lily.   
  Lily was walking briskly with her arms crossed, and James was following her with his fists on either side of his long legs.   
  
 "Dumb ass!"   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  "You, you dumb ass!"  
 "Bitch!"  
 "Bastard!"   
 "Gold digger!"   
  'Asshole!"   
  'Takes one to know one!"   
  Coco looked up from her nap in the History of Magic book, and saw Lily and James stop in front of the doorway, just shouting at each other.   
  


  "Dumb ass!"   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  "You, you dumb ass!"  
 "Bitch!"  
 "Bastard!"   
 "Gold digger!"   
  'Asshole!"   
  'Takes one to know one!" 

By the time everyone had gotten down to supper, the doors to the Great Hall were blocked. By two arguing Gryffindors. 

  "Dumb ass!"   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  "You, you dumb ass!"  
 "Bitch!"  
 "Bastard!"   
 "Gold digger!"   
  'Asshole!"   
  'Takes one to know one!" 

  "You.' Lily spat. "You, you, you!"   
  "FLOBBERWORM!" They chorused.   
  "Well, at least they're fighting again." Sirius said with a shrug. "Mind letting us eat?" 

  "Shut up!" The two Gryffindors shouted.   
  "I said it first!"  
  "No, I said it first!"   
   "Dumb ass."   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  Several floors above, Professor Dumbledore was still banging his head on his desk.   
  
  "That's stupid, dumb ass." Lily pouted. "Purple? Somebody has a borderline personality disorder."   
  "Like orange is much better!" James retorted.   
  "You two are acting like three-year-olds with larger vocabularies." Coco said, rolling her eyes.   
  "Just let them argue, Coco. There's no point in stopping them." Remus said, turning a page of Witch Weekly. Hey, he was bored!   
  "What is that supposed to mean?" They demanded.   
  "Stop doing that!" They shouted at each other.   
  "What?" They chorused.   
  "That whole, saying the same thing at the same time!" They shrieked in unison.   
  "God, you are so annoying!" They said at the same time, sitting back and crossing their arms.   
  "Check this out." Remus whispered, showing a page to Coco.   
  While James and Lily continued to shout at one another, everyone crowded around Remus.   
  "The Prince James Watch. Oh, I heard of that article. Each month they try to place Prince James and see who he's hanging out with, what he's wearing, etc." Clarisse said.   
  "Is he that popular?" Jennifer asked.   
  "He's one of the most wanted boys in the magical realm." Leola said.   
  "This month, good old Jamie is actually kind of lying low. However, interesting photos taken by yours truly, the Guy Spy, will depict Jamie's ongoing arguments with Ms. Popular herself, Muggle heiress, ex-girlfriend, current crush and fellow housemate of Jamie's, Lily Evans. The two seem to have a love/hate relationship! In the photos seen here, we have the two at Ministry balls two years ago, a dance last year, in the Quidditch stands together this past semester, and in the latest, the two are screaming their lungs out." Diana read. The readers lowered the magazine for another study, and the article was right.   
  "Who exactly could be following Lily and James around?" Munguldus asked, his brow wrinkling.   
  "Has to be a Hogwarts student with a camera." Sirius said, his face in the same angry, confused expression as Munguldus's.   
  "Most likely a Slytherin." Remus concluded.   
  "Am I right?" Lily demanded, making the readers jump.   
 "'About what? Sirius asked wearily.   
  "Hah! I'm right!" James said, banging his fists on the table in victory. 

  "Shut up!"   
  "You shut up!"   
  "Dumb ass!"   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?"   
  "What's that?" Lily asked.   
  Coco snatched the magazine and hid it behind her back.   
  "What's what?" Remus asked, his eyes not meeting her angry gaze.   
  "You were reading something." Lily's eyes narrowed. "Oh, what is the point? Let's just make it red, green, blue and yellow. I have somewhere to be."   
  "Getting crowned as the world's bitchiest princess?" James sneered, crossing his arms.   
  "No. I have a date."   
  Everyone's jaws dropped.   
  "What? Just because I dated a so-called prince doesn't mean I can't date other people." Lily said exasperatedly, grabbing her books and leaving.   
  "Who is it?" James called after her. "With the Marauders as my witness, I will find out!"   
  Lily made a rather rude and not so ladylike gesture with a certain finger.   
  
  "I'm a genius!" Lily exclaimed, stopping in the middle of the Hogsmeade street, almost reaching the meeting place for her date. She turned on her heel and headed toward the castle. 'Stupid heels.' She pulled off her dark blue heels, and shoved them into her flimsy, sparkly, deep blue handbag. Her dress matched, and she resembled some sort of figure skater or a fairy with the cut of her skirt and the fluttering, short sleeves of her dress.   
  "Wait 'til they hear it!"   
  
  "Where are you going, a strip club?" Sirius demanded the instant he saw Lily. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. She swatted him away.   
  "I have it!" Lily exclaimed.   
  "Where are you going, a strip club?" James demanded.   
  "URGH! BOYS!" Lily shrieked. "No! I was on my way to my date and then--…"   
  "You go out in public like that?" Sirius asked.   
  "URGH!!!!!!" Lily threw her handbag across the room. "There are so many ethnicity's at this school, and there's so many ethnicity's in this graduating year. Instead of four long tables, we can have a lot of mini-tables with different food and other stuff from different countries!"  
  "You interrupted your lap dance date for that idea?" James drawled.   
  "Oh, shut up! Nobody asked you, dumb ass!" Lily snapped.   
  "Who are you calling a dumb ass?" James demanded, standing up.   
  "Not this again." Sirius murmured.   
  "Have either of you ever heard of compromise?" Remus asked.   
  "Yes, but I always get my way!" Lily pouted, stomping her foot.   
  "How about we just cut to the chase? We get a mural on the wall behind the staff table, depicting the Eiffel Tower and the park around it, and the entire Great Hall is like sitting in a cafe in Paris?" James asked exasperatedly. 

  "Deal." Lily offered her hand, and he shook it.   
  Lily wiped her hand off on her skirt. "Eww. James Potter germs."   
  James wiped his hand of on his slacks. "Eww. Lily Evans germs."   
  
B/N: Sorry I was a naughty girl. Mandy had this done on Sunday but I didn't edit. *ducks tomatoes* HEy! I was sick!... PLEASE read my prequel, next part up as soon as I stop procrastinating.


	69. Oh, Flobberworms!

  "What do you mean we have to paint this mural?" James demanded.   
  "Well, only the two of you will know how you want it to look like. It's April. You have two months to finish that mural." Dumbledore said flatly. "And this will not take up time that you should be studying for your N.E.W.Ts."   
  "This is your fault, you know?" Lily hissed behind the headmaster's back.   
  "My fault? It was YOUR idea about Paris."   
  "No, it was your 'compromise', dumb ass." Lily retorted, getting up in a huff. "I take it we'll do the sketching in the Common Room tonight?"   
  "You think you know it all, don't you?" James spat.   
  "Seven?"   
  "Yeah."   
  
  In two days, a Hogsmeade day, the two started to get to work. Lily promised to bring the magic paintbrushes and paint, and James promised to set up for them.     When Lily showed up barely wearing any make-up, her hair pulled away from her face and not styled at all, and wearing overalls, James dropped the bucket of paint that he had brought. And it splattered all over the floor.   
  "I know, I know. I look like a wreck." Lily murmured. "Rub it in, why don't you?"   
  "An attractive wreck." James said with a smirk.   
  Lily rolled her eyes and went up the ladder. "The sky first?" She asked, setting up their paint.   
  "Yeah, it's the first layer."   
  In one hour the paint was painted and dried (magically, of course), and the two exhausted Gryffindors sat on their raised bench.   
  "I am tired." Lily murmured.   
  "Me too." James said.   
  "You've got a little--.." Lily touched his nose. "It's dry!"   
  "What?" James wrinkled his nose and Lily began to giggle.   
  "You've got this smudge of dry paint on your nose." Lily said, making another attempt to wipe it off.   
  "Like this?" James picked up his brush and dabbed Lily's nose with it.   
  "I can't believe you!" Lily exclaimed with a giggle, grabbing her own brush that was covered in green paint and dashing his cheek with it. They both got up, sword-fighting with their brushes and sending paint everywhere. Lily had to walk backwards to win. With one slick wrist twist, James's brush went flying and she caught it with her other hand.   
  "Ah-ha! Victory is mine!" Lily shrieked happily.   
  "Oh, is it?" James asked, taking a step forward.   
  And Lily fell.   
  And James caught her by her right wrist.   
  "Seems like the past is repeating itself, eh?" He whispered, pulling her up with a little effort and a little magic.   
  "Except last time I was more stylishly dressed." Lily grumbled.   
  "You look nicer now." James admitted shyly.   
  "In overalls with no make-up? My hair isn't styled, I'm dashed everywhere with paint…"   
  "You look nicer now." James said flatly. "Tomorrow morning?"   
  "You think you know it all, don't you?" Lily asked, her paint-splattered hands on her denim-covered hips.   
  "Seven?"   
  "Yeah." 

  
  "Look at this, Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, that following Monday in the Common Room. The Prince James Watch now featured a photo of James and Lily on this sort of raised billboard-paint thingy. This time, the film had been developed magically, so that you could see James and Lily chasing each other around with paintbrushes. Lily was laughing and her face was covered in dashes and dots of paint. To make things worse, the color was one of those rare color photos.   
  "Does Prince James really love this Muggle heiress? Ms. Evans allegedly fits every whim of Prince James's search for the perfect young woman. And considering their history, will Ms. Evans be wearing a tiara by this time next year?" Sirius read. "Yeah, right. Like Lily would marry James."   
  Lily walked in, wearing one of her newest dresses. It was this periwinkle gown that was sleeveless and the top part went down to cover half of her thighs. The second part was a lighter periwinkle pleated skirt that swung when she walked, that went just past her knees. She wore light periwinkle t-straps, and her hair was swept up, with a light periwinkle scarf holding it in place. She sighed happily, a dreamy smile on her lips.   
  "Uh-oh." Sirius exchanged a worried glance with Remus.   
  "What's that?" Lily wrinkled her nose.   
  Sirius grinned. If there was one way to make Lily mad, it was through the press.   
  "Uh, nothing." Remus muttered, and Sirius poked him in the stomach.   
  "Just some silly girl's magazine." Sirius said with a toothy smile.   
  "Oh, is it the latest Witch Weekly? I haven't read one of those in ages." Lily said, reaching for the magazine. Remus reluctantly gave Lily the magazine, shooting Sirius an 'I-hope-you-know-what-you're-doing' look.   
  He shot Remus an 'I-do' look.   
  "Wow, I didn't know that about Aria Kenning." Lily murmured, wrinkling her brow. "What's this?"   
  Remus ducked under a chair.   
  "The Prince James Watch." Lily whispered, her nose wrinkling as well. "Does Prince James really love this Muggle heiress? Ms. Evans allegedly fits every whim of Prince James's search for the perfect young woman. And considering their history, will Ms. Evans be wearing a tiara by this time next year?"   
  Like Sirius, she sounded shocked, but unlike Sirius, Lily was outraged. She threw the magazine down on the floor.   
  "I am going to have a word with this playboy prince, this randy royal, this disgusting disease, this rumor-spreading, back-stabbing, flobberworm!" Lily spat, standing up and picking up the magazine gingerly. She left the room with her nose in the air.   
  "And the point of that was?" Remus asked wearily, coming out of his hiding place.   
  "Why let her fall in love when all she's going to do is hurt both of them?" Sirius asked with a knowing look.   
  "I guess you're right."   
  
  "Oi! Mr. Prince!" Lily shouted across the Entrance Hall. James looked up and was indeed confused. What had he done now'   
  "Take a look at this!" Lily spat, throwing him the magazine.   
  "Wow! Aria Kenning had her nose repaired?" James said after a moment, still looking utterly confused.   
  "Not that! Turn the page, you dumb ass!" Lily muttered exasperatedly, placing her hands on her hips.   
  James looked around. Several Slytherin girls giggled, and they were joined by the Hufflepuffs. They knew what Lily was talking about. Lucky bastards. Then James looked down on the magazine. In bright pink bubble letters read the headline, "The Prince James Watch' What in bloody hell is this?"   
  "Why don't you tell me?" Lily demanded through gritted teeth.   
  James looked over the magazine and stared at Lily. She looked great, except for the whole angry thing.   
  "Does Prince James really love this Muggle heiress? Ms. Evans allegedly fits every whim of Prince James's search for the perfect young woman. And considering their history, will Ms. Evans be wearing a tiara by this time next year?" James sounded as shocked as Lily had before, but not so outraged.   
  "Well? I can't believe you did this!" Lily stomped her foot.   
  "Me?" James was even more shocked than he had been seconds before.   
  "Yes, you! Wouldn't you have been more angry if someone had written this about you?" Lily demanded.   
  "I'm used to it, Lils."   
  Lily cringed. "Don't call me that."   
  "I'm used to it, Lily. FYI, I'm a prince." James said, looking into her eyes with a 'please-don't-kill-me' gaze.   
  "I thought you were a duke!" Lily exclaimed.   
  "Grand duke. AKA Prince." James muttered wearily.   
  "I still can't believe you. If you lied to me this long, I don't know when I can trust you again." Lily whispered. "Why don't you check the other magazines and start making notches on your wall. I'm sure they've connected you with tons of other women." She turned on her heel to go, half-sobbing. The funny thing was, the only person they ever connected him with was her. 

  
  "He's a playboy prince." Lily murmured, hitting her pillow with her fists. "A randy royal." Punch, punch. "A disgusting disease." Punch, punch, punch. "A rumor-spreading, back-stabbing..."   
  "Flobberworm that you are completely in love with." Coco finished. She and the other Ravenclaws had come up after the 'scene'.   
  "That too." Lily murmured. "I'm hopeless."   
  "Ly devoted to you." Leola crooned in play. Lily hit her with a pillow, trying not to smile through her tears.   
  "Summer lovin', had me a blast." Coco whispered.   
  "Summer lovin', happened so fast." Diana joined in.   
  "Met a girl crazy for me." Jennifer played in a very fake deep voice.   
  "Met a boy cute as can be." Lily sang.   
  "Summer days a driftin' away.." Clarisse whispered.   
  "Oh-ah! Oh, the summer nights!" They all sang.   
  "Fuck love." Lily said triumphantly. "This is my last year, damn it."   
  "That's the spirit!" Mia said, jumping up.   
  "Well, let's have a bit of fun, shall we?" Coco asked. The girls giggled.


	70. In Which The Chapter Is Short- For A Rea...

"What in bloody hell is this?" James spat, tossing magazine after magazine after magazine at Sirius.   
Sirius gulped. "What's what?"   
"The thing that destroyed any hope of Lily and I.. I was this close." James sat down with a heavy sigh. "I guess it's hopeless."   
Sirius patted his friend on the back. "I guess it is."   
  
  The next morning James walked into the Great Hall with his friends and his jaw dropped. The entire painting was finished.   
  "Oh, James? Get the best Transfiguration students to prepare the number of dark blue, dark green, golden yellow and dark red tables I have written down here, and the same amount of chairs that I have written down. I'll handle the menu and then we can meet again later for decorations.. Um, what else? Oh, I still need you to help me put up the finishing coat on that painting there." Lily flashed him a short and sweet smile. "Oh, well, look at the time."   
  And she hurried off.   
  "Hm." Sirius murmured before they sat down for breakfast.   
  
  "The mural looks great, Lils." Coco said with a grin. The two of them sat on a bench in Hogsmeade Park eating ice cream.   

"Thanks. I finally figured out a way to avoid James for at least another week." Lily seemed proud of herself.   
  "So you sent back the necklace?" Coco asked.   
  "Yeah. Had to. You should start packing, you know? I'm sending most of my treasures home. Now I know they won't be sent back." Lily muttered bitterly.   
  "It wasn't her fault, it would have happened anyway." Coco told her with a scolding glance.   
  "I know. I just kind of wish it had been delayed." Lily explained.    
  "You would have felt guiltier if it hadn't been." Coco said, shaking her head.   
  "Yeah, I guess."   
  
  "I refuse to let Lord Voldemort to rule this country. Our magical citizens will not be subjected to the torture, pain and heartache that come with Dark Magic. We will not let history repeat itself. We will divide the following of the Death Eaters, conquer Dark Magic and we will survive." Queen Godrica said defiantly, her speech being sent on magical air waves around the world.   
  "Queen Godrica is making an enemy, my lord." Lucius Malfoy hissed.   
  "True, Malfoy, true. But we all know that Godrica's number one priority is the safety of her heir. Her nephew." A soft voice floated through the room. Even if Malfoy had been a follower since he was a young man, the voice still sent chills up his spine and goosebumps up his arm.   
  "Potter." Severus Snape murmured.   
  "Very quick, Severus. Thank you for bringing him here, Lucius." The soft voice said once again.   
  Severus's eyes widened.   
  
  "Explain this whole Lily situation again." Munguldus asked. "I'm feeling there's something more than she's telling you."   
  It was Saturday and in a couple of minutes, James would be going to help Lily for the last time.   
  "What do you mean?" Sirius demanded. "I know everything there is to know about Lily."   
  "When was the last time she was this upset about James, her and the press?" Remus asked.   
  "Last Halloween, why?" James answered. Sirius and Munguldus exchanged a glance.   
  "Do they keep periodicals in the library, James?" Munguldus asked.   
  "Of course." Remus replied with a shrug. Sirius and Munguldus scrambled out the portrait hole.   
  
**Heirs to Magical Fortune Narrowed Down Once Again **  
  
  Lily Evans, one of the five heirs to the Evans fortune, is now one of the three. Her stepmother is to receive seventy-five percent of the fortune on Lily's twenty-fifth birthday if Lily is married to a person she does not love. Mrs. Claire Evans certainly realized this, if Miss Evans's appearance at the Napa Valley Massacre earlier this year is any proof. It was said that Miss Evans was engaged to a Slytherin of her age, Severus Snape, whose family owns a Potions company. Seeing as Miss Evans is now a feisty sixteen year old Gryffindor, one would probably be correct in assuming that she was trapped into the marriage.   
  The two other heirs, the ones that were cut off as of yesterday, a Maria Patterson and a Petunia Dursley, were both children of Mr. Evans, Lily's late father. Petunia was Lily's sister and Maria her half-sister. Why were the two cut off from the will? Mrs. Dursley had a settled home and Mr. Evans's trusted lawyers and advisors were given the power to cut off her allowance once she had been settled. Maria Patterson was Mr. Evans's daughter, the result of an old college fling. Oddly enough, a college fling of Maria's cut HER off from her money. Mr. Evans's lawyers and advisors were like him, conservative rich people that followed the rules of society.   
  Maria's college fling involves a young man named Rupert Ravenclaw, seen on page fifteen with Lily Evans at a Ministry benefit. Mr. Evans strongly disapproved of the match of his daughter Maria and Rupert, and said so until his death. Maria Patterson married Rupert in a small ceremony at Easter. And who are the three remaining heirs, and why does one of them not even seem to exist?   
  Lily Evans, third daughter of Mr. Charles Evans and second daughter to his wife Rose. Lily's parents divorced when Lily was young, before she began her studious and industrious years at Hogwarts. Intelligent, athletic, social, pretty, hard-working, involved prefect Lily maintains a job at the popular tavern, the Three Broomsticks, and is in her third relationship with a Ravenclaw seventh year David Morales. Recently, Lily lost two of her friends to the Napa Valley Massacre. Claire Evans- Not much to say- She was a smart cookie who hung around rich and powerful men until she 'snagged' one. She has yet to confirm rumors that she had never loved Mr. Evans, her late husband. The third and final heir is an unborn child of James Potter, confirms a prophet. Harry Aries Potter has one third of the fortune if born by Miss Evans's twenty-fifth birthday. If Miss Evans is happily married and the son of James Potter is born, Mrs. Claire Evans will have nothing. We will see this drama unfold as a stepmother, a stepdaughter and an unborn child compete for riches.   
  
  "That's right.." Sirius murmured. "Lily was extremely upset when the article was published."   
  "Unborn child of James? Lily wasn't even talking to James, then." Munguldus looked very confused. "What happened after that?"   
  "The Halloween dance, then Claire came and admitted her defeat--.." Sirius figured it out. "And that was when Lily broke up with James, because she knew that James was in danger!"   
  "Does James know that?" Munguldus asked. They exchanged a look.   
  
"Ladders" Who would have thought magical royalty would have thought of such a Muggle way to do things?? Lily sneered.   
  "Just paint, Evans." James commanded flatly. Lily rolled her eyes and started at the bottom.   
  An hour or so later, while Munguldus and Sirius were still making their way across the castle, Peter and Severus Snape wandered in. Both Gryffindors were on the top steps of their ladders and they were ALMOST done.   
  "Hello, Peter! 'Lo, Snape." James snarled.   
  "Hello, Severus! 'Lo, Peter." Lily spat.   
  They both merely nodded and each conjured up mats that lined the floor around and under the ladders. Then they brushed past Lily and James's ladders with a forceful bump. The two seventh years fell to the ground and felt tugs at their bellies before they blacked out.   
  
  Lily woke up. The place she was in- It was like a cave. It had white stone walls and a dusty floor covered in white powder. And, and- And she was laying on mats. Mats that looked oddly familiar.   
  She pushed herself up and felt pain immediately. She remembered- She remembered falling. And- And James.   
  She looked around. And there he was, laying there, his glasses nearly broken, and he was bleeding from his forehead.   
  She walked closer to him and stooped down. She delicately wiped away the small stream of blood with her forefinger.   
  "Oh, James. I'm sure this is all my fault." She murmured, lying down next to him and bringing him closer. He was breathing, which relieved her. But only a little bit.   
  A single tear rolled down her cheek as she moved even closer to him, keeping his shivering but unconscious body warm.   
  "Ah, Lily Evans. It is quite a blessing to have you grace us with your presence."                A soft voice hissed and Lily's head immediately snapped up, her eyes widening with something no one had ever seen her have before- Fear.


	71. Lord Voldemort

  'Lord Voldemort.' Lily spat, a scowl slowly forming on her face. 

  'Lord Voldemort.' He repeated in a tone a key higher than his own. 'Lovely to meet you, Miss Evans.

  'I wasn't quite sure you'd join us.' 

  'Us?' Lily murmured to herself, but barely uttered the word by the time she figured it out. 'Your followers.' 

  'You are a smart girl, Lily. Saved a couple of lives, have you?' He asked, moving closer and circling her. 

 'I would rather say I spared a couple of lives.' Lily murmured. Lord Voldemort stopped in front of her.

   'And you are going to spare mine.' He hissed. 

  'W-w-what?' Lily sputtered with a scowl. 

  'See your boyfriend over there?' He asked, pointing a white, bony finger at the opposite side of the cave. She looked at him with a glance of longing that made Voldemort laugh. She snapped back into reality and nodded. 'You're not going to marry him.' 

  Lily rolled her eyes. 'News flash. He isn't my boyfriend. And FYI, I wasn't going to marry him anyway.'

  Voldemort laughed bitterly. 'Oh, yes, you were. Otherwise I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of getting you here.' 

  Lily looked alarmed. 'You aren't going to hurt James!' 

  Voldemort laughed again, and his followers, whose presence Lily just noticed, followed in suit. 'That was the original plan, yes. Smart and bold you may be, Lily, dear, but you are one step behind me. You'd make a good Auror, you would.' 

  Lily shook her head, perplexed. 'If not James, than who?' 

  'If I wanted your dear boy toy, I'd have had him when his stepfather was one of my lackeys. Well, I suppose you are right, Lily, dear. My interest in your darling grew when your father's little prophecy was published, but then there was you! You have always competed with James for attention, haven't you?'

  He reached out and his hand was less than an inch away from her hair. She shivered. 

  'And then some more interesting articles had been published and I asked my dear Severus what exactly was so special about you.' 

  Lily spun around and found Severus instantly with her eyes. She glared at him. 

   'Don't be mad at him, pet. He had to tell me. I had one of my assistants conjure something up. When he described the absolute perfection of you, I figured out you were what I needed.' 

  'A key to get James in your grasp.' Lily spat. 

  Lord Voldemort raised his hand, and the growing chill became a slight bit warmer. And then, he laughed.

  'You still don't get it, do you? I want you.' 

  'In case you haven't noticed, I'm the desperate loser who is still after her first crush. Her crush of seven years. The one who's dated so many guys yet always comes back to her first crush.' Lily snapped, rolling her eyes. 

  Voldemort laughed once more. 'Feisty one, aren't you? You know, you should be honored. You are the first and possibly only woman I will ask to be a Death Eater.' 

  Lily gasped. 'WHAT?' 

  'Lily, dearest, must I repeat everything? You are the key to everything- Killing off the Potter line and ensuring there are no heirs, keeping me alive and I'm sure you are quite excellent in the..' 

  James woke up groggily and saw what seemed like fifty hooded figures dressed in black standing in front of him. He was on the ground, that was certain. And Lily- He could see her being talked to by another figure in black. A pale figure in black. 

  'And I'm sure you are quite excellent in the--..' 

  James covered his ears. He did not want that sentence uttered about Lily. 

  'I will never join you. Not now, not ever.' Lily spat. 

  Oh. It was Voldemort. 

  'Not even if I laid a finger on your little boyfriend?' Voldemort said, teasing her.

  James pretended to be unconscious again. At least until he knew what was going on. 

  'Leave.' Voldemort ordered. 'I do not want you to see how I overpower this young woman. It's rather…Just go.' 

  'And Snape? Don't even think about touching Potter. He's mine.' 

  'Your wand, Lily?'

  'I wouldn't give that to you if it cost me my life.' Lily snapped and she meant it. 

  'I mean, get out your wand. We are going to duel.' 

  Lily gulped, but then her eyes snapped. 'Oh, really?'

  'You are cowardly, you realize that? 

  'Me? Cowardly? Lily, I do believe you have me mixed up with your boyfriend over there.' 

  'He's not my boyfriend and he has more courage and chivalry than you ever had. And I would never mistake you for James.' 

  'That's sweet, Lily, really. It is.' 

  'You know, most people have regular emotions but all you have is hate.' 

  'Hate is a very powerful thing.' 

  'You know, you'd have a lot less stress if you just saw a therapist at St. Mungo's.' 

  'Thank you for the suggestion. I rather like it this way.' 

  'Don't blame me if you go nuts.' 

  'I won't. You'll be dead.' 

  'Dream on!' 

  'I will.' 

  'You are quite stubborn, you know that?' 

  'Me? Stubborn? Lily, I do believe you have me mixed up with your boyfriend over there.' 

  'He's not my boyfriend and he is so much more easygoing than you ever have been. And I repeat. I would never mistake you for James.' 

 'Part of it has been about your darling. His aunt is rather feisty. But why not hit two birds with one stone, you know? Kill James, get you to join. If not, kill you, get James to join.' 

  'Your logic is so off.' 

  James tried to soak it in. There were curses flying everywhere, and the two people shouting them were Lily.. And Lord Voldemort? Normally, Lily would have run. Then what was she doing now? 

  And what was he doing, acting like a coward? "Oy! Tom!" 

  Lily turned around and she nearly cried with joy. And that's when Voldemort lunged at her, accidentally sending out a Dark Mark. 

  'LILY!' James shouted, lunging at her and pulling her down. She was knocked unconscious. For all he knew, she was dead. 


	72. Lady Lillian

**  'God, Lily, don't be dead.' James murmured as the feeling of shock subsided. He slapped her cheeks lightly. 'Don't be dead, don't be dead…' **

  Lily didn't stir. 

  'Well, Lils, I guess there's only one thing I can do right now.' James said, choking back a sob. Tears began rolling down his cheeks. 

  'Here's the story of Lady Lillian. The one that has been passed down from generation to generation of Gryffindors.' 

  'A noble and fine lady, Lady Lillian Potter was the prize wife. She was beautiful, with shining scarlet hair and her eyes a twinkling blue, she was smart, and for a lady of her time, extremely athletic. And her heart was given to Godric Gryffindor. He was so happy to have won her, he completely forgot his one obstacle- The man that her father had promised her hand to.' 

  'And of course, Godric was no ugly man, either. He had messy black hair, like mine, and playful gray-blue eyes. He was kind and one of the most genuine and upfront people Lillian had ever met. And he, too, was athletic.

  'Godric and Lillian were to be married, even. They had this grand party not too long before Salazaar Slytherin left the Hogwarts Four. Why did he leave' Most say that it was his hatred for Muggle-Borns. But that wasn't true. Salazaar loved Lady Lillian with all his heart, though it wasn't hard, the heart was so small, and her Muggle father promised that Salazaar could have Lillian for his wife.' 

  James held Lily close. He had sat her up in his lap and had scooped her up to keep her from freezing. 

  'Everyone Godric and Lillian knew was invited to the party. Everyone, that is, excepting for Salazaar. And that did not please Salazaar in the least. After all, it was the party of the year. There were magical sports matches, food of all kinds, and of course, many enjoyed seeing the look of devoted love on the couple's faces.' 

  'Everyone, that is, excepting for Salazaar.' 

 'Salazaar was not going to let his only love slip through his fingers. Like I did to you.' 

  'Godric and Lillian were finely dressed in their favorite colors and fashion of the time. The couple were on the dance floor, in Sirius's words, strutting their stuff. Every guy wanted to find their Lillian and every girl wanted to find their Godric. The two were very much in love.' 

  'Salazaar had gathered a group of his followers and he led them on jet-black horses in a siege on Gryffindor's estate. They destroyed the palace almost completely and had taken many hostages. Among them, Lady Lillian.' 

  James looked down at Lily again. He closed his eyes and began to drift off into thought. 'She can't die. She won't die. Don't die, Lils. I can't help you too much. My leg- Lils, I really wish that it wasn't broken.' And James began to cry again, hugging Lily's limp body. 

  'Well? Does Godric get her back?' Lily murmured in his ear. 

  James nearly dropped her in surprise. 

  'Lily!' James exclaimed and hugged her tightly again. 

  'Did he? Tell me he got her back!' Lily exclaimed, standing up and stomping her foot. But her body was all too weak for these movements, and she fell again. 

  'Lils, he took a huge siege on the palace, all right?' James snapped in a worried way, making her comfortable. 'He took her back and they got married and had kids, after his death Orion, his son, swept his mother away to the only magical territory and made her queen. He had his own name changed to Potter and half of his children were to go to Gryffindor and rule. He married this girl named Ravenclaw and her daughter got pregnant and gave the children either the Ravenclaw surname or the Potter surname, and told them to keep those names for as long as they lived.. Lils?' 

  Lily smiled at him weakly. 'Thank you.' 

  'You were defending me, Lils, weren't you?' James asked, his tears of joy filling his eyes. 

  'Like you would have for me.' Lily murmured. 

  'It was all protecting me, wasn't it? The little game, the break-up, this? You've been protecting me all this time.' James whispered in realization. 

  'Yes, and it isn't working!' Lily pouted. 'We keep returning to this whole--..' 

  'Love thing?' James asked with a grin. 

  'YES!' Lily exclaimed. 

  'But it has been working. It's kept the both of us alive thus far and Lily?' James asked, his eyes straying to the ground. 

  'What?' Lily asked, ducking her head to meet his gaze. He looked at her with an obvious sparkle in his eyes. 

  'I don't want this anymore.' James said confidently. 

  'Don't want what, James?' Lily replied, her voice soft and her gaze- Maybe he was just being hopeful. But was it- Loving? 

  'I don't want to be apart from you any longer. It seems as if these past two years have been about keep-away. These past two years have been hell on me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.' James told her, taking her hands in his. 'Lily, you have to promise me you won't play this game any more. Your protection will do no good if I'm perfectly miserable.' 

  Lily nodded. 'I promise. I don't want this. This life of forever being perfect.' 

  James snorted. 

  Lily slapped him lightly. 'You know, for a moment there I thought you were going to ask me to marry you.' 

 James grinned. 'Not yet, anyway.' 

 Lily smiled in return. 'I must look like a wreck.' 

  'An attractive wreck.' 

  'Lily? James?' A familiar voice bounced off the walls of the cave. 

  'SIRIUS!' Lily exclaimed. 

  'What? No hug?' Sirius walked in carefully with a band of Gryffindors lead by Professor McGonagall in pursuit. 

  'James's leg is broken and I don't exactly have the strength to stand up.' Lily explained with a sigh. 

  'No wands?' Sirius mumbled, going over to fix James's leg. 

  'I didn't have mine and Lily's is a bit tired after battling with Voldemort.' James explained, not noticing the flinch of ninety percent of the people in the cave. 

  'Never boring at Hogwarts, is it?' Lily asked him as she was helped up. 

  'Would it be as interesting if it was normal?' James asked. 

  'Nah.' Lily replied, shaking her head playfully, her hair whipping him lightly in the face. He laughed, tucking her hair back in place and she gave him a sweet kiss to shut him up.

  The other Gryffindors turned away. 

  'We'll be getting you back to the castle now.' Professor McGonagall muttered. 

   Lily slipped her hand into James and they began to walk with everyone else.

A/N: This not be the end!


	73. When An Era Ends, Another Era Rises

A/N: Go out and read gitarstrng's fic, A Glimpse Beyond the Stereotypes, one of which (Mandy smiles like an idiot) is based on ME!!! My BFF wrote this character in there called Alexis (MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and besides Alexis being the star of the show (gitarstrngs glares at Mandy), I mean, co-star, it's a really cute G/D that I (MEEEEEEEEEEEEE) helped out on.

  "Their children are going to be beautiful." Sarah Barnes spat bitterly as she watched Lily and James flirt over setting the small tables at Madam Rosmerta's. "Even if they look like Peruvian folk dancers." 

  "Well, sis, that proves that everything in life can't be perfect." Sean replied, putting an arm around his sister. "I'm just glad to see them happy."

  "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sarah muttered, a small smile breaking the gloomy expression on her face. "They have been through quite a bit of torture, haven't they?" 

 "More than you or I know." Sean replied. "My treat."

  Sean got up and threw a Galleon onto the table.

  "Do you remember?" Lily sang huskily into James's ear.

  "Quite well, in fact." He replied and she stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

  "You're not supposed to say that, you dolt!" Lily said in an innocent voice. "Humor me, will you?"  

 "The twenty-first night of September?" He sang back.

  Lily smiled. "There. It wasn't that hard." 

 "Of course it wasn't, Princess." James murmured, pulling her closer in their little slow dance in the ally.

   "Only a princess if you say I'm a princess." She reminded him, pulling their bodies even closer.

  "And I say you're a princess." James replied.

  "Did you hear that, world? The great Prince James thinks I'm a princess!" Lily whispered loudly, before she settled her head onto James's shoulder. "Don't let go, Your Highness." 

 "I won't." James whispered back. "I won't."

   "Is that all you remember?" Sirius asked. 

 "Yes. We were painting the mural, someone came in, we fell and that's it." Lily said simply. "I really can't remember anything else." 

  "The graduation ceremony is coming up. You guys need help bringing in the tables?" Sirius asked as he and Lily walked to the library together.

 "Actually, we have the proper amount of tables and chairs, I just need to assign seats." Lily explained.

 "And of course, Munguldus, James, Remus, Peter and I will join you at your table, milady." Sirius huffed in an overly stuffy voice.

 "After James and I come back from the Head Table, that is. James was made valedictorian. Results came in for our tests earlier. He scored higher on Astronomy and Transfiguration. I had a very dismal grade in Divination and Transfiguration, but my Charms score outmatched his." Lily said.

  "This truly is the end of an era. It's May, Lily darling. We have a month to bid farewells and adieus. It's actually kind of sad." Sirius muttered with a sniffle.  

 "Thank you." Lily said automatically.  

 "What for?" Sirius asked, stepping away from his friend. 

  "For siding with me. Even when I was just being a little brat. I needed someone to side with me. Especially since Jackie's gone." Lily said after sighing a bit. "Thank you, Sirius. But I really have to go now."

  "Am I no longer good enough to compete with James?" Sirius called after her retreating figure.

  Lily turned around and shrugged, then turning back to run again.

  "Got any twos?" Lily asked, both of them sitting cross-legged on the coffee table in the Common Room. Like they shouldn't have been.

   "Nope." James replied.

   "Go fish." Lily chirped.

  "You guys are boring." Sirius muttered. "Don't you do anything but smile at each other?"

  "Actually, my friend Nadia Grenoir is coming in from France. I left my thesis down there and we're using it as a reason to party." Lily informed him, getting up and putting down her cards.

  Just as she got away, the deck exploded.

 "Smooth move, Don Juan." Lily drawled, making a few people laugh.

  "You've just got good luck, that's all." James said simply, shrugging it off.

  "And you, Don Juan, have the charm and good looks to snag a princess." Lily joked.

  "What's your thesis on, anyway?" Sirius asked. "Mine is about the history of Quidditch."

    "And I bet you copied it straight out of Quidditch Through the Ages, didn't you?" James asked with a grin.

  "You bet. Binns is so old and so boring he probably hasn't even read the damn thing. However, I did put in extra work." Sirius replied.

   "I bet you did." Lily sneered jokingly. "My thesis is about the wonders of modern magical travel. Rather boring if you ask me. What about you, James?"

  "I actually selected a pretty hard subject. Magical society from an early age to a ripened one." James said, sitting back on the sofa next to Sirius.

  "I wonder where that one came from." Lily murmured. "Anyway, Nadia's coming in really soon, and you two have to be nice to her."

  Sirius and James grinned. "Have we ever not been?"

  Lily groaned and went off grumbling.

  Nadia was the dream-girl. Undoubtedly a Veela. She had huge blue eyes and long, blue-black curls. She was of medium height and she could be perceived as delicate. But she was hardly so.

  She could spit fire with her words and her blue eyes had a blaze to them.

 "So this is it? You left France for this?" Nadia's eyes traveled around the room and she shrugged. "I much prefer Beauxbatons."

  "Then why did you make the journey? You could have just owled it to me." Lily pointed out.

  Nadia shrugged. "Hogwarts equals party. Hogwarts equals boys. On that note, where is that James fellow you are always going on about."

  "Always, Lily darlingest? I just thought it was in your waking hours." James popped into the Entrance Hall and stood behind Lily, his arms around her waist.

  "Works fast. No wonder you like him." Nadia said with her infamous half-grin.  

  "You must be Nadia." James replied.

  "And you must be James." Nadia muttered, rolling her eyes.

  "She's happy to meet you, she's just got too much sarcasm for her own good." Lily explained.

 "Lily Isabel—" Sirius started bellowing, and then he stopped right in his tracks. "Why, hello." He squeaked.

 Lily scowled and rolled her eyes. "This little squeeze toy is Sirius, Nadia."

  Nadia gave him a flashy, pure white smile. "Hello, Sirius." 

 "Hi—" He squeaked, but then he returned to his senses. He had dealt with a half-Veela before and this was no different. Kind of. "Hi, Nadia."

 "You haven't seen anything yet." Lily told her. "Come on."

 "Am I invited?" James asked, in an obviously fake plead.

  "Me too?" Sirius mockingly begged.

  "Oh no." Lily muttered under her breath. "Here we go again."

  "What's going on?" Nadia hissed.

  "They choose a time once a week to annoy me like three-year-olds. Boys." Lily whispered in reply. Now they were doing back flips.

   "Problem is, they never grow out of it." Nadia replied, and Lily nodded.

  "Shame that I'm dating one of them." Lily muttered.

  "More like she's marrying one of them." Remus suggested. "Oh! Three-year-old time!"  

  "And that member of the insane crew, otherwise known as the Marauders, that's Remus. Far more serious than the others, but still has a few screws loose." Lily explained. 

  "I know see why you picked Hogwarts over France." Nadia said.

  "Well, let's go upstairs. They won't notice."

   "You have your own room?" Nadia asked, her jaw dropping at how—Lily the room was.  

  "Yeah, well, I'm packing it up now. There are no other seventh year Gryffindor girls here." Lily explained. "Got the paper?"  

  "Yeah, hold on." Nadia pulled out her wand, tapped Lily's head three times and the paper, neat and orderly, was automatically in a folder on Lily's bed.

  "Perfect." Lily murmured, reading through it. "Rather boring though."

  "Explain Sirius." Nadia requested, falling back onto Lily's soft bed.

  "What's to explain? He's my best friend. He's smart, he's a prankster, he's nice—" Lily stopped and glanced at the dreamy look on Nadia's face.

"Please do not say you're falling for him."

  "Somebody has to be in love besides you and James!" Nadia protested, sitting up.

  "But it's not going to be you and him!" Lily explained. "Let's just say that the last person he dated—"

  "LILS! HE CALLED ME A FOUR-FINGERED FLOBBERWORM!"

  "ONLY AFTER HE CALLED ME A PICKLED TOAD WITH TWO BRAIN CELLS, PRINCESS!"

  Lily rolled her eyes. "Boys."


	74. Much Ado About Nothing

  Copies of Witch Weekly were flying around the school. Remus snatched one and saw the front cover.

  Lily and James had profile shots, and Lily's hair was pulled away from her face. She was grinning at him like an idiot, and he wasn't exactly Mister Cool-And-Casual. But they looked happy.

  "Prince In Love to be crowned." He read, and his eyes widened. He rushed to the Quidditch field, where James and Lily were supposed to have been.

  Lily sighed and snuggled her head on James's shoulder as she tightened her grip on his waist. She closed her eyes and imagined herself walking through a small-town produce market, selecting oranges and potatoes for that evening's supper. She was probably filing papers at the Ministry's office of records by day, and staying in her cozy flat with James by night.

  She supposed that was simply wishful thinking. James planned on marrying her. He repeated it quite often. And now, he was to be crowned.

That would make her a princess. A magical, international celebrity.

  She sighed once more. She wished that she could hold their responsibility of ruling a country, raising a prince or princess. Hell, she could hardly take care of herself, yet alone James, yet alone his children, yet alone his country.

  "You okay back there?" James asked. She had sighed. Twice.

  "Fine. I'm just thinking." Lily whispered in reply.

  "James!" Somebody shouted, and James landed the broom, helping Lily off first. It was Remus. "Congratulations, man. I just read the news. Your aunt chose you as the heir."

  "Always thought Jennifer would receive the title, to be honest with you." James joked.

  "Congratulations to you, too, Lily." Remus said with a grin. "You might as well get your coronation at the same time."

  Lily gave them both a quick smile, though she returned to deep thought instantly. James slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Do you think the wedding will be a big deal?"

  Lily closed her eyes and smiled dreamily just to cover up the fact that she was so confused. It wasn't the normal confusion, it was just the sort of what-am-I-going-to-do confusion.

  James finished talking and kissed Lily quickly on the cheek. "Got to get to practice, all right? I'll see you both later."

  As soon as he was out of hearing range, Remus inched closer to Lily. "You okay in there?"

  Lily shrugged and sat down on a bench. "I really don't know."

  Remus looked at her expression worriedly. "You don't plan on—Running, do you?"

  Lily looked back at him, taking a deep breath and shaking her head. "No. I couldn't. The worst thing has happened- Lily Evans can't run."

  "Why can't you run?" Remus asked seriously.

  "Do you realize what's happening to me?" Lily inquired in reply.

  Remus shook his head.

  "I have fallen in love, slowly for the past two years and so much of myself has gone into James that running away would be like leaving a huge chunk of me behind. No, I don't plan on running, but I do have a lot of thinking to do." Lily whispered slowly, getting up and leaving him there.

  Remus put his hands behind his head and leaned back a little. "Finally Lily Evans realizes what it's like to put her two feet on the ground."

  "AND WITH THAT, GRYFFINDOR WINS THE HOUSE CUP!!! CONGRATS TO MUNGULDUS FLETCHER, JAMES POTTER, AND SIRIUS BLACK FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM AND WE SEND GOOD HOPES FOR YOUR SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE." Remus turned off the magically-made microphone and smiled up at Lily, who returned the gesture. Her eyes were starry-like, she truly loved the game. She rushed onto the field to hug Sirius and Munguldus, and she kissed James softly.

  He passed her the cup. "It's your win as well."

  She grinned at him happily. "I've already gotten my prize."

  He kissed her on the lips, and the two were surrounded by the Gryffindor supporters and it was almost like the complete end of an era.

  Almost.

  "Lily, where do you think you'll be in ten years?" Sirius asked as Lily (who had sent home her things that very morning) helped him pack.

 "Living in some palace, not only as the King's Consort but as the Royal Record Keeper. I suppose I'll have had four kids- Harry, because James detests the name, he'll be seven, and his twin will be Liberty, Jacqueline for obvious reasons, she'll be four, and the youngest, at age two, Sirius."

Lily replied as she came across Sirius's underwear. "There is NO way I am touching that."

  "Will Sirius be crowned king when James is gone?" Sirius asked with a sly grin, folding his underwear by himself.

  "No, because Harry was born first." Lily explained. "Plus, since Sirius acts will act like a two-year-old all his life like his namesake, I don't think he could rule a country."

  Sirius hit her in the arm with a pair of his lime-green boxers.

  "EWW!" Lily shrieked, slapping him away. "Same question."

  "I think I'll have a family of my own. Two kids, twins, too. But me, I plan to go into Quidditch. My kids will travel with me with a tutor until they can go

to Hogwarts, and twice a week, we'll have roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes, a roll and some exquisite dessert." Sirius replied in a 'serious'

tone.

  "Like duck laRonge?" Lily offered slyly, and Sirius looked horrified. "Just joking, Sirius."

  "I think we've got pretty good plans." Sirius told her as they both sat down on his trunk to close it.

  "We do. Except for one thing." Lily said with a smile.

  "What?" Sirius asked.

  "You left your clothes in your trunk. Unless you plan on going down to the graduation ceremony in your boxers, a bow tie, an unbuttoned dress shirt and a cummerbund." Lily joked.

  "I cannot believe you're doing this." Lily murmured, hiding her head in her hands. Sirius was wearing a completely unbuttoned dress shirt, a bow tie, a cummerbund and a black pair of boxers. If that wasn't bad enough, he had patent leather sandals on.

  "Your idea, Lils." Sirius reminded her.

  "I see that Sirius decided to leave Hogwarts with a bang." James joked at the Head Table. "And Lily is deciding on different ways to kill him."

  "Plan to see the Seymour Special at McDuckald's." Lily hissed loudly and the people in the Great Hall laughed.

  "This year has been the most memorable year by far. I got the girl, I was unconscious, I won the Quidditch cup, I was unconscious, I became valedictorian AND.." James smiled at the crowd. "I was unconscious."

  The Great Hall rumbled softly with laughter bouncing off its walls.

  "Hogwarts has offered me something that I can never replace. The education and the leadership I've been blessed to have will be able to make me one of the world's greatest rulers. I'm physically fit, and I've met the love of my life. I can only hope there are thousands of more success stories coming out of this castle, because there has to be something seriously wrong with you if you do not become the best of the career field you select to be in, or the group you select to hang with. This graduating class has been shook up by the controversial events that emerged during our seven years, and we've survived them all. I wish you all the best, and look me up if you ever feel like mooching off the world's handsomest, most successful, smartest.."

  "Most modest." Lily muttered loudly and the people in the Great Hall laughed again.

  "Most in love and most happy ruler in the world, look me up." James finished, making Lily blush.

  Almost everyone, excluding the Slytherins, clapped so much, James could have bowed thirty-seven times and they wouldn't be done. James slipped into a seat next to Lily and somebody within the room's walls snapped another picture.

A Graduating Prince Gives Good Speech And Good Credit to Lady Love 

  James was pictured kissing Lily on the cheek, and she blushed.

  It was the end of the first fantastic, unbelievable part of their lives and the beginning of yet another.

TBC


	75. The Makings of A Princess

  Lily and James traveled to Gryffindor where Lily applied for the Gryffindor Ministry's position of bookkeeper. 

  The paparazzi were having a field day.

  "Ms. Evans?" A thirty-year-old slim witch raised her blonde eyebrow at the young woman sitting in front of her. "As in Prince James's girlfriend?"

  Lily looked at her confusedly. In spite of her obvious confusion, she nodded. "I'd like to apply for a junior bookkeeper position. Here's my résumé and my recommendation letters."

  The woman's dull blue eyes grew wide. "But won't you be living at the palace?"

  Lily thought about it for a moment. "I suppose, if James asks me to move in. We just graduated, you see."

  Lily handed her the slips of paper that she had hoped would properly guarantee her the job. The woman looked it over carefully, tucking her chin-length blonde hair behind her ear, but then she gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Evans. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Grace Stamp."

  "Hello, Ms. Stamp." Lily said politely. 

  "Your résumé is impressive. All the papers publicize you as some sort of ambitious, stupid bitch but—Oh, oops." Ms. Stamp stopped and looked away embarrassedly.

 "Oh, don't worry. They're pretty much right. Well, the bitch part might have changed since James came along. He called me a spoiled brat, a bitch, all the things you can imagine and yet.." Lily trailed off. 

 "He swept you off your feet?" Ms. Stamp suggested wearily. Lily nodded and smiled.

  "James was never one to give up." Lily explained. "And I suppose he never will be." 

  "You really are quite smart, according to all these records. And you managed the Gryffindor Quidditch team for several years?" Ms. Stamp asked, returning to her professional ways.

  "Yes. Putting James on the team had to have been the hardest thing I imagined at the time, Ms. Stamp." Lily sort of looked away, amused at the memory.

 "I don't see why letting you join the Ministry would be a mistake. You start on Monday." Ms. Stamp told her. "And you can call me Grace."

  Lily smiled happily. "Thank you so much, Ms.—Grace."

  And she hopped perkily out of the office.

  Grace Stamp got out a piece of parchment as quickly as she could. "Dear AJ, you won't believe who I just hired. Lily Evans, Prince James's girlfriend and our possible new queen! I cannot believe how sweet and smart she is! Come by after she's gotten used to life here and I'll introduce you! Yours truly, Gracie."

  "This Lily of yours.. Same girl I met at the English Ministry Ball several years ago?" Queen Godrica asked as her nephew followed her throughout the halls of the palace, and James, with his hands respectively clutching one another behind his back, nodded.

  "Yes, aunt." James replied. 

  "Charming, witty girl. Glad you snagged her." The Queen said, stopping to admire a rose. "Is she working?" 

  "Just got hired as a bookkeeper." James answered dutifully. 

  "Head Girl, prefect for two years, managed the Quidditch team to their wins? Obviously high society- Are her parents Muggles?" The Queen stopped looking at the rose to appraise her nephew. 

  There was something different about him. He had always been raised to be the best, to know the most, to act the wisest, to have the most class, but he had always had a disconnection with his heart. But now, he sort of smiled at her, a smile that he surely had not had when he had come back from Europe, a smile that expressed a heart broken and healed over and over again.

  "Yes, aunt." He was definitely smiling, as if her questions amused him.

   He had grown taller and definitely more muscular- That had to be the supreme physical difference. But there was something there. Something his eyes hadn't shone for before, something his lips didn't smile for before.

  "Do you plan on marrying her?" She asked finally, looking up into her nephew's eyes.

   He nodded solemnly. "Every fiber of my being plans to make her queen."

   "Does she know?" Godrica asked, her eyes large and hopeful.

  "She has a faint idea." James admitted. "I repeat it every day."

  Godrica reached up and cupped James's chin. "You, boy, have become a man. A man worthy enough to rule my kingdom if I were to drop dead this instant, and I have this Lily to thank for it."

  "Grace, I do believe—Oh, hello. I'm Lily." Lily introduced herself to the rugged man about Grace's age standing in front of her. She offered her hand.

  "Adam Frost Junior, at your service." He whispered, kissing the top of her hand. She blushed. "Lily, as in Lily Evans?"

  Lily nodded. "I'll go get Grace."

 AJ's gaze followed Lily out of the room and he could hardly believe he had just been speaking to the prince's girlfriend.

  Grace came in, as bubbly as ever. She hugged AJ and leaned over to whisper, "Isn't she darling?"  

"Quite so." AJ answered. "So very…"

 "Down to earth?" Grace gushed. "I know."

  "Well, she only spoke to me for a moment or so." AJ admitted. "I really didn't have time to judge."

 "Lily, dear!" Grace called, grinning at AJ.

  "Yes, Grace?" Lily asked, coming in to the room with a few manila folders on the crook of her bent arm.

   "Do meet my friend AJ. AJ, this is Lily Evans, the junior bookkeeper." Grace said formally, suppressing a giggle.

  "Hello, AJ." Lily whispered with a smile, amused at her boss's antics. 

  "AJ's got quite an opinion on Quidditch, Lily. He writes for Quidditch Weekly." Grace offered, trying to get a conversation started.

 "Do you really? I played the Keeper position for about a year and I managed our team to almost all of its wins." Lily said, that pearly grin of hers growing by the moment. 

 "Did you really?" AJ demanded with a gasp. Lily giggled and nodded.

  "Yes, but it wasn't at all easy with that prick of a boyfriend of mine coming and taking over MY team." Lily joked, rolling her eyes playfully. 

 "Lily always talks about him like that. But when he sends her flowers or messages, she giggles like she's thirteen." Grace explained.

  "I do not!" Lily protested, but a familiar owl flew in and made her blush.

 "See?" Grace asked playfully, raising an eyebrow.  

 Lily squealed, biting her lip to keep from screaming happily.

 "Grace, do you care to go shopping?" She inquired as calmly as possible.

  "That's like asking a dragon if it cares to breathe fire." AJ drawled sarcastically. "Bye, Gracie. Must get back to the office."

  "Why the reason for this sudden shopping spree? Not that I'm complaining or anything." Grace asked, sliding into one of the chairs in front of Lily's desk. 

 "Oh, if you don't want to go to the palace tonight for cocktails, we don't have to." Lily said simply, returning to her work.

 Grace squealed and started jumping up and down. "You don't mean THE palace, do you?"

 "No, I mean the palace of Buckingham." Lily replied. Grace looked confused. "Muggle thing."

 "Let's shop!" Grace cried, and the two bounded out of the office.

  "Everyone was there- Lead singer of the American magical pop group Sweet Charity, the head of the records office, the Minister of Magic, famous Quidditch commentator Sirius Black, the host and hostess Prince James and Queen Godrica, and all eyes were trying to get a glimpse of Lily Evans, the prince's girlfriend and alleged fiancée."

  Rita Skeeter yawned. She had definitely not seen Lily Evans since her Hogwarts days, and there had been only a few months since they had both graduated.

 She scanned the room. It was truly like an average cocktail party. The guests were laughing, chatting, and then the white French doors with inlaid gold opened up.

  "Miss Lily Evans, junior bookkeeper, and Grace Stamp, chief bookkeeper." Somebody announced in a scratchy voice. 

  Rita noticed that Prince James, Queen Godrica and their minister were too deep in conversation to notice the young beauty.

  She wore black. Her straps were probably made of velvet cord, and they tied into two tiny, perky bows. Her skirt ended about an inch or so above her knees, the sparkling fabric making a delicate ruffle on its edges. Her shoes looked like they were made of glass, and her friend, dressed in a coordinated ensemble of lavender satin, seemed to gasp at the room's size.

  And its contents.

 Lily had the top half of her hair pulled away with the rest of it, crimped and wavy, flowed softly onto her shoulders and back.

 "Lily Evans enters the room and instantly finds the leader singer of Sweet Charity, hugging her. The girl does not search for her royal boyfriend but instead strikes up a conversation with Sirius Black." 

  "Lily, you look more radiant than ever." Sirius told her truthfully.

  "So, you do have taste." Lily observed with a playful smile. 

  "England has been dreary without you raising hell." Sirius admitted.

  "I thought you and Remus could do well enough." Lily reminded him, her smirk slowly growing on her face.

  James looked up, and his aunt let him go along on his way  

  "What a distraction, this party." She had muttered playfully.

 James scanned the room and found Lily automatically. She was talking to Sirius animatedly and she looked like- She looked perfect.

 He walked briskly across the ballroom with an amused expression on his face.

   "You're causing quite a stir, Princes.." He began, but she put a finger to his lips, slowly closing the gap between them.

   "You might make them think something they oughtn't." She murmured, giving him a soft kiss. "You look wonderful."

 His arms snaked around her waist, and her arms linked around his neck, both in an effort to lift her up a bit. "If I look wonderful, you look like a goddess."

  "Well, thank you, Your Highness." She whispered with a giggle. "I don't have to call you that, do I?"

  "Why not?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

  She shot him a look. 

  He lowered his head to steal a kiss. "Of course not."

  "Because that sounds like an awful lot to scream." She said huskily, getting a very sultry look in her eyes.

  "Save it for the wedding bells." Sirius snapped.

   "Al lright, Wunka Sewyous." Lily muttered unhappily, putting a mocking pout on her face. 

  "Those two, honestly.. Have to pry them apart with a crowbar. Or a Hurling Hex." Sirius was saying under his breath, and James was about to say something, but Lily put a finger to his lips.

  "So, Sirius. How's life with Nadia going?" Lily inquired innocently, and their friend blushed, muttering something about needing another drink. She looked back at James. "Problem fixed."

A/N: Go out and read gitarstrng's fic, A Glimpse Beyond the Stereotypes, one of which (Mandy smiles like an idiot) is based on ME!!! My BFF wrote this character in there called Alexis (MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and besides Alexis being the star of the show (gitarstrngs glares at Mandy), I mean, co-star, it's a really cute G/D that I (MEEEEEEEEEEEEE) helped out on.

P.S. The Gilded Lily, by Helen Argers, (the summary from Amazon.com)   
From veteran historical novelist Argers (Noblesse Oblige, not reviewed, etc.), a love story that reads like a boxing match with many bruising rounds. Set in the months before and after the 1876 Centennial, in the heart of the Gilded Age, the story is lavishly embellished with period furbelows. Details of fashion--bustles are hot; society hostesses vie to give extravagantly glitzy parties--pad the rather schematic tale of ``Gilded Lily'' Nina De Bonnard. As it begins, the beautiful, rich, and independent-minded Nina is spending the summer in the family mansion on the Jersey shore. She has scads of suitors and no intention of marrying any of them. But when worldly Jordan Windsor returns from Europe, she finds herself reluctantly attracted. Since true love cant run smooth, the two are kept apart by deception for most of the narrative--Jordan, for example, in order to help his brother (whos in love with Nina), deliberately courts Ninas younger sister Adele, then ends up breaking the younger siblings heart and angering Nina. The would-be lovers are also obstructed by rumor (Jordan is supposed to be engaged to another), by illness (Nina takes sick and cant recall the promises she made in her delirium to the visiting Jordan), and by sundry machinations: malicious letters are sent, other messages not delivered. Along the way, Nina creates quite a life for herself when she flees the shore for the city and becomes a chronicler of fashionable life for a newspaper under the moniker of The Gilded Lily. Jordan also discovers a taste for journalism and politics in Washington, while he tries to forget Nina. . . which of course he can't. More glitter than gold. --


	76. Snow

 Lily cuddled closer to him, soft music playing in the background. Most likely 'Moon River', her personal favorite. She finally had him all to herself.

 He was going to be crowned soon, and he had been swamped with so much last-minute training and other such things, he barely had time to notice her.

 And they sat, cuddled up in silence, watching the fire slowly burn before them. He had his arms around her waist, and her arms were limply resting on his. It was definitely the best Christmas she had ever had.

 "Nice, isn't it?" He asked after a moment.

 "What?" She murmured, her eyelids fluttering a bit.

 "This vacation." He replied softly. "It's nice."

 "Yeah." She whispered huskily. 

 "Want to go play in the snow?" James asked with a grin.

 "Not now, baby." She muttered, falling asleep. He smiled at the top of her head, kissing it softly and following her example.

  "Wake up!" Lily shook her boyfriend awake.

 "Bagel with lots of cream cheese and hot cocoa." James whispered hungrily.

 "Gotcha." Lily bounded over to the kitchen. They were at James's mother's place in Godric's Hollow. She came back only a moment later and James noticed she was completely dressed to play in the snow.

  "After breakfast, I think I'll take up that offer of yours." Lily said quietly handing him a plate and a mug. "I'll go get you a sweater."

 James watched her leave the room. He reached into his pocket and found the scarlet velvet box immediately. He opened it to reveal a platinum band with four three-carat diamonds that formed a heart. 

 At first he felt the heart was too much of a cliché, but he realized that the heart was the only thing he could think of to express himself if the words couldn't come out.

 Snape's engagement ring was definitely a cliché. The whole Lily thing. It was her name, not who she was.

  In his other pocket was the emerald velvet box with the wedding bands in it. They were both platinum, with ten tiny three-carat diamonds an equal distance apart, studding it.

 He closed the box softly and put it back into his pocket.

 "Here you go." Lily chirped as she bounded back into the room, handing him a blue chenille sweater she always said looked good on him. She scowled. "You haven't touched your breakfast. We're not going outside until you're done."

 With that, she went to go get her own breakfast. After he quickly finished off the bagel and hot chocolate, he went to brush his teeth. In the middle of the process, he looked at himself. 

 "Tomorrow, you're going to be engaged, mate."

  Lily was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when it occurred to her that it was the day after Christmas. A year since she had run away from James on an empty street in London. And now?

  She didn't know what now was. But she knew she liked it.

  She looked herself over. The town was definitely more Muggle now, as the odder residents had flocked either to Gryffindor or Hogsmeade. So, she was dressed like a Muggle. She wore a cream-colored cable sweater and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. She applied a bit of lip gloss, and smiled at her reflection. Today was going to be a good day.

  "Over here." James said firmly. They stopped at a more secluded and snow-covered hill.

 Lily started the winter fun by throwing a good, large snowball at him. He threw another back.

 "Bring back any food-like memories?" She whispered, and with that, the actual fight began. He aimed for her hair, and she stuffed one down his shirt.

  There was snow on her neck, and one was aimed at his 'family jewels', and he flung one at her backside. That started a bit of 'wrestling', when James found himself on top, and Lily's form was making an impression on the snow below her. He had pinned her arms down and he leaned in for a kiss. She giggled.

  "I want to remember this moment forever." Lily whispered as he started on her neck.

 "You will." He murmured breathlessly. "Because I want you mine forever."

 He propped himself up, still pinning her down. "Lily Evans, I'm asking you to marry me."

 She sort of stopped breathing for a moment. "Doesn't that require some sort of getting down on one knee movement?"

 He grinned at her. "Last time someone did that to you, you bopped him on the head with your purse. The time before that, Sirius tackled him. Either fate I'll go through, if you just say yes."

 She smiled back, wriggling free of his grasp. She sat up and kissed him with a full-force. When she broke away, she was smirking. "I guess I'll have to get my purse and owl Sirius." 

 She creeped out from under him and threw a snowball at his amazed face.

  "Don't I even get to see the ring?" She asked playfully, another snowball in her hands.

 "Never a direct answer from you, huh?" He asked, and she threw it at him.

 "Nope. Diplomats always have to be polite and vague." She reminded him, her hands on her hips. "Now, slip the darn thing on, I want to see it."

 He smiled. Lily Evans was finally his for the keeping.

To Be Continued


	77. The Engagement Party

  Lily opened her eyes slowly, turning on the lamp. She sat up on the side of her bed and looked down at her feet.

  Even in the soft lamplight, they sort of twinkled an 'I'm getting married in two days' glow.

  She looked over her shoulder at James's sleeping figure.

  No, don't jump to conclusions. But wouldn't you think it's kind of odd that two people who are getting married in two days to never have slept in the same bed together? And I mean SLEPT. Being the next prince of Gryffindor is a _busy_ job.

  It was all arranged. Arabella was not going to be her maid of honor, like they had planned in fourth year, but Grace would be. Arabella was a bridesmaid, and both women would be dressed in lavender, a color that suited both of them.

  Lily was to leave that morning. James would be in the company of his groomsmen and most importantly, his best man, Sirius. Albus Dumbledore would do the honors of walking Lily down the aisle.

  It was June. Three months before Lily's birthday and everything was set.

  It seemed too—Calm.

  She closed her eyes and turned off the lamp again, creeping into bed next to James and remembering their engagement party.

  The grass was freshly cut and there were little children running about in their Easter Sunday dresses and suits. People were smiling, laughing, catching up. The pond nearby was crystal blue and the bridge was nearly brimming over with happy families.

  Not too far away from the white gazebo stood a large oak tree who's shade overlooked a long stretch of green that continued to form a hill. On the top of the hill, in a somewhat silent seclusion, sat the happy couple.

  Lily's hair had been pulled away from her face, flowing down her back, and they sat on the cold stone bench, facing one another. Lily's eyes were downcast, but James looked straight at her.

  "Can't look at me now? Wait until we have kids. Daddy, why can't Mummy stand being in the same room as you are?" James joked, and Lily smiled quite sincerely.

  He thought it seemed all too easy.

  She had played the simplicity card, wearing a loose, silvery-white silk dress with a long skirt, a lace overdress and short, fluttering sleeves.

  "What's wrong, Princess?" He asked her, inching closer and holding both of her hands in his.

  She smiled at him, leaning in for a soft kiss. "Nothing. I'm just happy."

  He stood up, still holding her hands. "A dance, Princess?"

  Lily looked up at him innocently. "That would be wonderful."

  He helped her up and they began a very flirtatious, sloppy tango. It wasn't too long before they were laughing.

  "Adorable those two. Awfully shy, though." Someone commented nearby. Probably some blue-haired lady who drank Bloody Marys at church socials.

  Lily and James looked at one another, bursting into laughter once more.

  Sirius, Arabella, Munguldus, Nadia, Ronan, Remus, Grace and Blossom, their estranged roommate, burst out of nowhere, lightly splashing the couple with water. Never ones to give up a chance at fun, James took off his jacket and tie and Lily removed her shoes, beginning a chase around the lawn.

  "Adorable but awfully rambunctious." The same person who had just called them shy was murmuring.

  Lily and James looked back at one another and splashed each other.

  Before long, everyone was tumbling down the grassy hill, wet and careless.

  Lily stood up with James's help and they watched their friends. They looked back at one another, and began walking back up the hill together. It wasn't long before Lily was standing really close to James, his arm around her shoulder and her head on his.

  Albus Dumbledore watched his former students on the lawn, dancing around, dripping wet and spinning in circles. He sighed in reminisce, they were acting as if it were their fifth year rather than the eighteen and nineteen-year-olds they were supposed to be.

  It was good that though they knew beyond the hills and the valleys, there were Dark forces at work, they could still play around.

  Especially those three of which burdens would seriously be handed to.

  Sirius. He was going to be such a good godfather, when he could.

  Lily. She would give up everything for that child.

  James. Whether or not he lived beyond age twenty-five, he would die defending Lily, Sirius, and their children.

  Their futures seemed unchangeable. All Albus could do is sit back and wait for life to play itself out.

  Lily smiled back at James's sleeping figure, knowing that in two days, they would finally be done fighting what they had known since they had spoken to one another three years before.

  She got up and hurried off to pack, almost unable to keep her excitement silent. She went into the bathroom to pack her toiletries and her reflection caught her eye.

  "I'm getting married in two days!" She whispered happily. The Lily in the mirror smiled understandingly. "FINALLLY!"


	78. Lily Without Her Thorns

  "God, I want to puke." Lily muttered. She tried to step down from the low stool she was standing on. 

  "That wouldn't be pretty, now, would it?" Grace asked her, helping her back on to the stool. Grace tugged at Lily's skirt and stepped back.

  Arabella, Grace, Nadia, Blossom and Jennifer, the junior bridesmaid, sighed happily.

  "What? Do I look bad? Was the dress a bad decision?" Lily looked at the both of them worriedly. Arabella motioned for her to turn around.

  Lily gulped at her reflection. The dress was off-the-shoulder, with the bodice made of pure white brocade, and the waist dipped slightly in a triangular fashion, with a full skirt made of soft, fluttering silk chiffon. Grace had taken strands of hair from either side of her face, both about a centimeter in diameter, twisting them and pulling them back and weaving delicate pearl beads onto them and into Lily's loose curls that were demurely pushed back by the hair Grace had twisted back. Her veil was thin and it attached itself to the hair Grace had twisted back.

  Grace stood on her tiptoes and placed half of the veil in front of Lily's face.

  "You look beautiful."

  "God, I want to puke." James whispered, he tried to step away from the mirror.

  "That wouldn't be too princely, now, would it?" Sirius asked him, pulling him back in front of the mirror and adjusting James's collar. "You want to marry her, right?"

  James nodded nervously, but he managed to smile. "God, yes."

  Sirius patted him on the back. "Well, now's your chance."

  "Ready?" Professor Dumbledore asked the nervous redhead by his side.

  "No." Lily murmured, looking a bit jittery.

  "Are you going?" He inquired, raising his eyebrows.

  "Yes." Lily whispered confidently, smiling and standing up straight.

  "Wonderful." He grinned.

  James's third cousin, Angelica, the flower girl, walked with James's fourth cousin, Joshua, the ring bearer, beginning the Wedding March.

  After them, Arabella and Ronan were arm-in-arm. Blossom and Remus came afterwards, to be followed by Sirius and Nadia, and next was Lily and Dumbledore, with Jennifer holding onto the train of the skirt.

  Lily couldn't hear the gasps of awe, the chattering, the music, or even the minister. She stared at James through her veil and only heard her cue to say, "I do."

  "You may kiss the bride."

  James softly lifted the veil, then snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "I love you."

  Her arms found themselves encircling his neck. "I love you, too."

  He closed his eyes as he softly pressed his lips against hers. Pictures flashed before his eyes. Lily on their first day at Hogwarts: So unpolished, so scared. Lily at the Embassy Ball: So.. In love. Lily screaming at Rafe, not wanting to let him on the team, Lily screaming at Sirius, Lily screaming at him..

  He opened his eyes. Lily was smiling up at him adoringly.

  "What were you thinking?" She whispered.

  "Just how pretty you are and how wonderfully lucky I am." He whispered back.

  Lily slipped out of her wedding gown and grabbed a simple navy blue slip dress. She smiled at her reflection.

  "Come on, Lils." James leaned against the doorframe, his tie loosened and his jacket nowhere to be found. He shoved his hands in his pocket. "Let's not keep our guests waiting."

  Lily shot him a dirty look. "You, James Potter, are hardly one to talk."

  "I was just a little late!" James protested defensively.

 Lily adjusted her hair again and went up to give her new husband a quick kiss.

 "You know I'm just kidding. Let's go."

  "I would personally dedicate the delay in this wedding to Lily's brattiness." Arabella said, and the reception's guests were all laughing.

  "Don't forget James's whole denial phase." Sirius added.

  "Hey!" James protested.

  "Oh, come on, Jamie. You know that you were kind of.." Jennifer began, but Remus interrupted.

  "Stupid?"

  "How about blind?" Peter added.

  "Rude and arrogant comes to mind." Munguldus muttered playfully.

  "Lily wasn't much better." Blossom reminded them. "I will get that James Potter if it's the last thing I do."

  Lily and James began laughing really hard.

  "The first dance.. It's their song." Sirius bellowed and sure enough..

  "Ba-di-ya, say that you remember, dancing in September…" James sang softly in her ear.

  "I don't think we ever danced in September." Lily told him as he led her out onto the dance floor.

  "Well, we'll have to change that, won't we?" James asked. "Twenty-first of September. You, me, music. Bells, stars, golden dreams.."

  "Sounds like a date." Lily murmured as people began to spill out onto the dance floor.

  "I don't think we ever went on a date, did we?" James inquired, as the song quickly changed into the Vogues' 'You're the One'.

  "Line dancing!" Sirius shouted.

  "I don't dance." James whispered to Lily.

  "I'll have to teach you then." She said, grabbing his hand and joining Sirius in the line formation. "Side step, step back, side step, step back…"

  Lily looked over to one side. James was doing well and Sirius.. Sirius—Sirius, well, wasn't.

  Lily stopped to start laughing, but James grabbed her by the waist and soon she was laughing and line dancing at the same time. She kicked off her shoe when the song soon became something Greek.

  Now James, Lily and Sirius were laughing. Her other shoe went flying off and landed in the cake.

  The music didn't stop, and neither did the dancing. James and Lily ran over to the cake and started eating around the shoe.

  The music continued and people were laughing.. Arabella and Ronan joined the cake fest, and Sirius- Never one to pass up dessert- Was there not long after.

  Lily was laughing again, the music blaring so loud that she almost couldn't stand it. She shook her hands clean of cake, accidentally shaking it onto James.

  "Oh, that was a mistake." He shouted playfully, grinning at her.

  "Why?" She shouted back, and he barely heard her over the music.

  But he knew that he could show her better than he could respond. He grabbed a handful of cake and threw it at her.

  She stood there, shocked.

  James almost cringed. What if she got mad?

  "James, we are not fifteen anymore!" She shrieked, scooping up a handful of her own, and smacking it on his face.

  They started running around the ballroom, with the very expensive cake flying. Somehow, no one seemed to mind. It was sort of a souveneir. The crowd parted and James tackled Lily, his cake-covered-hands smearing cake onto her dress, and they were laughing so hard.

  The ones that didn't find the idea so funny exited the ballroom. But the rest just joined in, and James and Lily shared a kiss on the floor.

  James wiped his mouth clean of cake, and looked at his finger in wonder.

  "What?" Lily asked him. 

  "It's good." He replied. "Try some."

  And he slowly slid his finger into her mouth.

  "It's good." Lily whispered.

  "Why do you sound so surprised?" James asked defensively. "I had the good taste to pick you!"

  "It's sweet." She finished.

  "Which part?" 

  "Both."


	79. I Trust You

A/N: Finally! An update! I'm sorry it took so long, it just took me a while to organize my thoughts, as an AU fic is coming up, taking a different stab at the future of Lily and James.. Here we are, the second to last chapter! Harry and Liberty Potter of Gryffindor By Rita Skeeter 

  Born on the thirty-first of June 1980, in the Huntington Palace in the heart of Gryffindor is the world's answer to the desperate need of good magical rulers.

  The Heir Apparent James's wife, Heiress Apparent Lily has given birth to their first children, a son, Harry Remus Potter and his twin sister, Liberty Arabella Potter. The young couple, at the time aged twenty-one and twenty, are glowing with happiness. A close friend of the Potters, predicting the two will team up to bring down the Dark Lord, made a prophecy.

  The Dark Lord hasn't been seen since the children's birth.

  The children possess a definite beauty. The boy already possesses James's messy black hair and Lily's dazzling green eyes. The girl has her father's sparkling blue orbs for eyes, and her father's dark hair, with her mother's smoothness to it. 

  The two children have a large destiny before them, and their parents seem completely willing to help them along the way.

  "The Heir Apparent seems quite distracted lately. You'd think with the birth of his son, he would be overjoyed." Someone whispered into the new Gryffindor minister of magic's ear, as James passed them abruptly, not even acknowledging their presence.

  "Oh, his daughter, the next Princess Liberty, is quite a handful. Very sick. You know how twins are.." The minister trailed off, not really finishing his sentence because he didn't really care. The behavior of the Heir Apparent and his bride was most appalling.

  Lily kissed Liberty's cheek softly, teasing one of her dark locks into a bouncy curl. "You are lucky, darling, that you don't have your father's hair. Life would have been a nightmare for you."

  Liberty started to wail softly. 

  "Oh, Libby, sweet.. I didn't mean to ridicule your father.. He's just an easy target, being the oblivious little prat he was." Lily picked up her daughter, cradling her in her arms. The diaper wasn't wet or goopy, and she had just fed her after her nap. Liberty had had her toys at easy reach. "Grace! Call the nurse! Libby's real hot!"

  The nurse rushed in with Grace and they took away Liberty quickly. Lily gulped and stood there, knowing that soon, the room that had been decorated with feminine pieces, would be transformed into another royal guest room.

  It took her awhile to get the information to register. Steadily and swiftly, she rushed to the throne room to find her husband.

  "The Heiress Apparent, Lily Potter!" A minstrel announced as Lily entered quickly, rushing to her husband's side.

  "Jamie, Libby's sick. Really sick." The tears were welling up in Lily's eyes. "Magic cannot save her.. Nothing can."

   James looked at his aunt pleadingly, and she nodded, dismissing the couple.

   She looked sadly and solemnly around the throne room, and the minister of magic wiped away his scowl. "I'd like you all to say a prayer for my great-niece, Liberty Arabella Potter.."

  ".. Destined to be a charming presence in the royal court, Liberty was a fast favorite of her family and her godmother, Arabella. It is to rest that we lay this beautiful baby girl and send your condolences not only to her parents, but to her brother, who will never know of his sister's presence in our lives." Sirius rolled up the parchment that he had written his speech on, moved to kiss Lily on the cheek and hug James. "I am so sorry."

  Lily looked sadly at him. His own twins were supposed to be born soon- October, to be exact. Lily held back her tears, swallowing the lump in her throat and closing her eyes to keep them back. She knew she couldn't cry. 

  James, however, didn't share this sentiment. He moved into Lily's arms, crying hysterically into her shoulder. How could she be this heartless, this unmoved?

  The thought left his head as he felt warm, sticky drops fall onto the crown of his head. She was hurt, badly, but she was better at being royalty than he ever would be.

_That October.._

  "Liberty Isabella Black, born on this past thirteenth day of October, the heir to the Black fortune!"

  The twenty-seventh had been a dark day. Exactly a month after the death of Lily and James's daughter Liberty Arabella Potter, James Godric Black, Sirius's son, and Nadia, Lily's close friend and Sirius's wife, both died of the mysterious disease that had taken Liberty's life. Now, all Sirius had for a nuclear family was his darling baby daughter.

  How his secretary could announce Liberty's inheritance so joyously was beyond Lily. The blonde young woman eyed Sirius with a coy grin, and Sirius met no one's eyes. The only happiness he seemed to have was in his daughter, named after Lily's own.

  "I guess this is fate, Lils." Sirius whispered into her ear. "You have what I want, I have what you want."

  Lily softly handed Liberty to her husband. "Sirius, I'm.."

  "So sorry.." Sirius finished for her. "Yeah, I know."

  "Her eyes are beautiful. Extraordinarily blue." Lily offered, placing a hand on his forearm.

  "They are, aren't they? The color is her mother's." Sirius murmured distantly, cradling his godson in his arms.

  "Did you love her very much?" Lily asked, gulping.

  "Not as much as I loved Jackie, and not as much as I love the three of you." Sirius whispered. "But I loved her."

  The three adults stood in silence, looking at the babies in the men's arms.

  "It brings me to what Dumbledore spoke to me about the day James and Libby were born." Sirius continued. "I'm sending Libby to live with my family in California. And he wants you under the Fidelius Charm."

  Lily gasped. James was confused, but of course, he had copied Lily's homework for Charms throughout seventh year. Lily whispered softly into his ear and his eyes widened.

  "Dumbledore wants to be your Secret Keeper, but the decision is up to you." 

  "You, of course." James said automatically, but Lily's other hand went onto James's own forearm.

  "Not that I don't trust Sirius, but I'd like to talk to Dumbledore himself." Lily stated in a very finalizing manner.

  Both men didn't meet her eyes. She was right.

_That Evening.._

  "This is our son, James. I will not have him live in a world like I did!" Lily hissed softly, closing her book and looking at her husband with great skepticism. Her eyes contained a trace of sadness, though her heart felt heavy. "You yourself aren't ready for it!"

 James tried to reason with his feisty wife, sitting down to be eye-to-eye with her. He looked at their son in her arms with a fondness and a sadness that reflected Lily's own. "Lily, you're being ridiculous. He will not have to live as we did, constantly having to be the perfect son in the spotlight."

  "It was fine when we were first married, because the minister didn't give a rat's ass if we were behaving or not. But our faces are covering newsstands and the new minister has this big fixation with acting according to protocol! I will not have that!" Lily threw down her book. "Our son will not be as we were, James. Look how long it took us to realize we loved each other at the same time! Look how long it took for us to get our lives organized! Remember how many have died for us, and then you can make the decision of where we raise our child."

  James took a deep breath, and he stood up. "I will think about it, and I will come back when I've made my decision."

  Lily grinned slyly at him. Though she was a mother at twenty, she still had that playful, arrogant air about her, as if she was still fifteen and hating her husband's guts. She was still the beauty she had been- motherhood flattered her. "Very diplomatic answer, Jamie. Polite, but vague."

  James took a walk around the castle. Selfish Lily was no more, and her three top priorities were as follows:

Harry, their son. James himself Her friends 

  Normally, James would have been number one, their friends number two, and their country number three, with herself at number four. But ever since their daughter had died, she had been especially overprotective of Harry.

    However, she was right. They would raise their son in their own way, far away from the castle that had brought on the death of his sister, his mother's close friend, and his possible best friend.

_Half A Year Later.._

  "Peter? Are you sure?" James asked wearily, burping Harry over his shoulder.

  "I'm quite sure." Sirius confirmed, though he didn't look James in the eye.

  "But Peter? You don't think he'll confess under pressure?" James inquired, his expression worried. "If anything, Sirius, you should have us switch to Dumbledore."

  "James Potter." Lily spat, standing up. "I am ashamed of you. Sirius is our best friend. I am trusting his decision, as should you."

  "But Princess, Peter is not our bravest friend. How he got into Gryffindor, I have no idea. He should have been a Hufflepuff!" James tried reasoning with her without raising his voice. It wasn't working.

  "James, I trust Sirius's decision. If he thinks that Peter can do it, Peter can do it. Sirius, we'll make the switch. I trust you."

_I trust you.. I trust you.._

  The words haunted Sirius as they locked his cell. His eyes had already gone cold, knowing that the Potters' downfall was his own doing.

_I trust you.. I trust you.._


	80. When The Time Is Right (Epilogue)

  Remus Lupin put down the Daily Prophet and sighed. This year, he would need to know. It would be his 'Christmas' present.

  Sirius had talked to Remus about it, and he was right. Harry would find out everything he needed to know about his parents, his parents' friends, and his parents' enemies.

  He dug through a box that had made its place next to his chair ever since he moved into the apartment. He found what he was looking for—his fifth year yearbook. The last one they had ever worked on.

  He flipped through the pages first. There sure were plenty of pictures that made the whole year worth it. Especially the one of Lily and James on the gazebo steps.

  His heart was heavy, especially as he fingered the small note Libby Black had owled to him, telling him she'd be at Hogwarts this year. What a bright girl. She truly had overcome her past and she no longer needed Sirius's approval.. Or so she pretended. She was definitely the next Lily. He got his quill and dipped it into a bottle of ink, flipping to the student profile pages. He found the picture of Munguldus and began scribbling next to it.

**  Munguldus Fletcher**- During the War, Munguldus was forced to change his name at the tender age of eighteen. He moved to the small country of Gryffindor, where magical 'freaks' and citizens with a serious need for protection flocked, and at the birth of his friends Lily and James's twins, moved back to England, knowing he would be safe. But to this day, he is known as Mundungus Fletcher, a slight change, but he's been safe. The prophet runs his own business in Diagon Alley for serious Divinators.

  He got out his wand and dried the ink with a single word. He wasn't going in any particular order, just flipping pages and finding people's pictures, trying to write all he could about them.

**  Jacqueline Kensington-** One of the first Gryffindors to die in the War, Jackie was a dear friend to all. Not only one of the youngest to die in the War, but the first girl and the first Seer. Sirius Black, her only boyfriend, admits that she has always been what women have to measure up to. She was Lily Evans-Potter's dearest friend, for the entire time that Lily was alive.

  **Arabella Bones -** Arabella left Hogwarts after Jackie was killed, feeling responsible. She finished her education at home and now resides in Surrey, in the home of her dead husband, who was a half-and-half. Her husband, Ronan, was killed the night before Halloween and Arabella, who became Liberty Black's godmother after Lily Evans-Potter died, is now caring for the soon-to-be fifteen-year-old girl as a wretched-looking old woman. Arabella is under many spells and they remove themselves whenever she approaches magical places such as Hogwarts or Diagon Alley.

  **Ronan Figg-**A close acquaintance of the Potters, Ronan died the night before Halloween, supposedly because he had discovered Peter Pettigrew's secret. He wasn't even able to tell his wife, Arabella. She takes care of his many cats in loving memory of his strong presence in her life.

  When he found Rafe's picture, it had dried teardrops like the ones around Jackie's picture. Remus recognized Lily's fancy handwriting that resembled the words near Jackie's picture, _We Will Not Forget_. Remus nodded in agreement. No, they never would.

  **Rafael Hernandez-** A fanatic about Quidditch, parents knowing the boy from their childhood often compare him to former Gryffindor Quidditch captain Oliver Wood. His passion for three things in life, Quidditch, Gryffindor spirit and the love of his life, Helen, are always going to be remembered. A true romantic, Rafe started the ball rolling on the whole Lily and James front. Without him, the many mechanisms pulled in their fifth year wouldn't have succeeded. He also planned to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Head Girl Helen Guevara, during his valedictorian speech, which was not at all sappy and quite good.

  **Helen Guevara-** Helen decided to go into Quidditch, knowing that it was Rafael's only career passion and she had none of her own. Now under the pseudonym Helen Hernandez, she hand-selects the players who play for the World Cup from England and Ireland's finest teams, as long as they possess the 'Rafe-like quality'.

  **Peter Pettigrew-** Peter lives in hiding alongside his master, Lord Voldemort. The news of Peter's mortality and where his loyalties lie has been distributed to a select few. All those who knew Peter, including his mother, would never have suspected that the stuttering fat boy would be a Death Eater. The news saddens friends of Lily and James Potter, knowing how close the couple could have been to true and utter happiness. 

  **Aphrodite St. Claire-** Aphrodite was one of the first to die in the War, not knowing her high-maintenance behavior would drive James Potter into the arms of her rival and create the cure for the decade of massacre and tears.

  **Severus Snape-** Though he still hasn't gotten over the loss of his first and only love Lily Evans, Severus bides his time at Hogwarts as the potions professor. Severus has acted as some sort of godfather to the only child of his late close friend Nadia, though many see his actions as some sort of apology to Sirius Black, the child's father. On the contrary, Severus holds close ties to the daughter simply as redemption for his actions towards Lily's son. His efforts in the War have been greatly appreciated, though not many have voiced these emotions.

**  Remus Lupin-** After the supposed betrayal by his close friend Sirius, Remus Lupin cut off his connections to any of his former Hogwarts friends in hopes to remain safe. He did, however, participate in the upbringing of Sirius's daughter, knowing that his friends Lily and James would have done the same. The effort was rewarded when he discovered the truth through Lily and James's son. Remus bides his time until the truth is revealed and he is especially needed.

  **Sirius Black-** Though Sirius lives in hiding now, plans to reveal his innocence are in the works. He plans to unite his daughter and his godson under one roof and become the father of the year. Sirius assists in the War in secret, hoping to preserve the memory of his precious best friends and his lost son, wife, and love of his life, Jacqueline.

  Remus softly ran a finger of a picture of Lily. Her smile was wide and not forced at all, and she stood between Rafe and Jackie on the Quidditch field, some of her hair, pulled into perky ponytails on either side of the top of her head, was whipping her in the face as it was a windy day. He was glad that the picture hadn't been developed magically, because it capture her essence and her smile brightened the overcast sky and on the whole, the future.

  **Lily Evans-** As if the death of her daughter didn't hurt her enough, friends agree that the loss of her life, not being able to experience her son's childhood, was probably the biggest blow of Lily's existence, with us or not. It took her three scandalous years to sort out her life and we hope that she died in some peace, knowing that James died by her side and it wouldn't be long before her son would join them. Lily Evans was a presence that created a feeling you could never forget and no one ever will. Finding James was key to her existence, and ours.

 **James Potter-** Though he never knew it, James Potter would create a legacy away from his throne and away from a Quidditch field. If someone had documented his incredulous love story, it would have sold millions of copies, earn thousands of raving reviews and set the example for the perfect couple, something no one has yet to live up to. In a few words, James Potter lived to die. He lived for Lily, he lived for Quidditch, he lived for the throne, all three of which created life-threatening situations. Perchance he had survived the ordeal and watch his son grow, he would have been the greatest father there ever was, and he would have made his wife the happiest 'Princess' there ever could be.

  Remus put the last spell on the yearbook and found wrapping paper. He would owl it when the time was right.

**_To Libby and Harry,_**

**_Merry Christmas_**

**_Love from your favorite Marauder,_**

**_Remus_**

A/N: There. It's done. Gilded is already out, telling about how Liberty Black and Harry Potter _don't_ get along, and an AU is in the works, and this AU isn't like what some people predicted, but with the baseline that Lily decides to let them live in the palace, under the Fidelius Charm with her friends and family, and both her daughter and Sirius's son survive (giving Sirius's daughter a completely new name). Draco Malfoy's life is also changed drastically, in both fics. Please, read Gilded, and when the AU comes out, please read it as well.


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